Remembering forgotten humanitarian crises

The European Union's Humanitarian Aid Office ECHO is supporting an international one-day conference entitled "Forgotten Humanitarian crises - the role of the media, decision-makers and humanitarian agencies". Organized in Copenhagen by the Danish Refugee Council and other Danish NGO partners, the conference will focus on media and donor responses to "forgotten crises." Forgotten crises are those where humanitarian needs remain high but where press coverage and donor response are low. Poul Nielson, the European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid together with Costanza Adinolfi, the Director of ECHO, will be among the keynote speakers at this event which coincides with the Danish Presidency of the EU. Other main participants include representatives of the Danish government, Member States, journalists, relief workers and researchers.

The conference objective is to inspire the main players to reflect upon their own roles, and ultimately to raise public awareness about forgotten humanitarian crises. Commenting on the initiative, Mr Nielson said: « ECHO is deeply concerned by the problem of the 'forgotten crises' and we are pleased to be able to work together with Danish NGOs and the Presidency to draw attention to this problem.» He continued : « ECHO's mandate is to help the most vulnerable and not simply to 'follow the cameras.' A lack of media coverage can lead to less interest from donors and unmet needs among the victims. In 2000, when the Mozambique floods hit the headlines, ECHO responded providing nearly €10 million. But, in the same year, there were several other major crises attracting far less media attention to which ECHO allocated higher amounts .»

ECHO is one of the largest humanitarian donors in the world. In 2001 it provided €544 million in funding. Angola is a prime example of a crisis receiving low media attention where ECHO focuses on delivering short-term relief to the population suffering from thirty years of conflict. Since 1993, ECHO has provided more than €130 million to the victims of the Angolan crisis. Other examples include Tajikistan, where there has been widespread suffering as a result of a long drought following a civil war and the refugees from the Western Sahara, who have lived for many years in precarious conditions in camps in Algeria.

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• Commissioner Nielson's Speech at Conference on Forgotten Humanitarian Crises (23/10/2002)