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The European Union as a whole (the 25 Member States and the Commission) is one of the worlds main humanitarian aid donors. These aid activities are managed by the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO). ECHO was established in 1992 and its mandate is to provide emergency assistance and relief to victims of natural disasters or armed conflict outside the European Union. The aid is intended to go directly
to those in greatest need, irrespective of race, religion or political convictions.
ECHO is a donor organization which operates through its implementing partner organizations. ECHO works in more than 60 countries with over 200 partners including NGOs like ActionAid, as well as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and United Nations (UN) agencies. ECHO spends more than €500 million annually on financing humanitarian projects and claims to help around 18 million people every year. Humanitarian aid provided through ECHO is governed by the key principles of humanity, impartiality and neutrality.
Recognizing the importance of pre-emptive measures to combat humanitarian disasters, ECHO decided in 1996 to adopt a new approach in order to increase its involvement in disaster preparedness and to achieve greater coherence in its programs. This approach, called DIPECHO (DIsaster Preparedness-ECHO), intends to improve the capacities of communities at risk to better prepare and protect themselves. DIPECHO encompasses both natural and man-made disasters (i.e. technological hazards, fires) but excludes conflict.
Activities undertaken under the DIPECHO program have demonstrated that simple and inexpensive preparatory measures, particularly those implemented by communities themselves, can be extremely effective in limiting damage and saving lives when disaster strikes. Typically, DIPECHO-funded projects cover training, capacity building, awareness-raising, early-warning, and planning and forecasting measures. DIPECHO projects are designed as pilot strategies for their region. Their impact is supposed to be multiplied when the strategies are systematically integrated into long term development projects, whether by the development services of NGOs, the European Commission, national governments or other development partners.
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