EU humanitarian funds appeals

The United Nations, the European Commission and the Belgian Government have joined forces to launch the U.N.'s Consolidated Inter-Agency Appeals for 2003. This is part of the ongoing process of building an effective partnership between the European Union and the United Nations in the fields of development and humanitarian affairs.

The UN has organised a co-ordinated launch, in eight cities around the world, of 18 appeals covering more than 30 countries and regions. The aim is to reach more than 50 million people in desperate need of humanitarian assistance and protection. The overall amount of the appeals is 3 billion US dollars. In Brussels, appeals were presented for Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia. The launch was hosted by the Government of Belgium and led by Mr Sergio Vieira de Mello, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Costanza Adinolfi, the Director of the EU's Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), referred to the theme chosen for this year's appeals, "hope for the future", noting that this could only be achieved if humanitarian actors worked together. She stressed the right of beneficiaries to receive "quality aid" which can only be delivered through coherent common strategies, strengthened co-ordination mechanisms and the exchange of best practices. Mrs Adinolfi said that by providing humanitarian assistance, the European Union was expressing its solidarity with the world's most vulnerable populations. It was vital, she added, that the impartiality, independence and neutrality of the humanitarian space be preserved.

ECHO has been supporting humanitarian operations in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia for many years and in 2003, it will continue to provide assistance and relief to the most vulnerable populations. The focus is on life-saving activities mainly in the areas of health, nutrition, water/sanitation and emergency relief. But providing "hope for the future" also means support for efforts to prevent conflicts re-igniting and measures to address their root causes. Bridging the "transition gap" from relief to development, disaster preparedness and better targeting of the most vulnerable are all important humanitarian challenges that ECHO has prioritised in its 2003 strategy. The Consolidated Appeals can be found on UN/OCHA's internal website at

http://www.reliefweb.int/appeals/cap2003_internal.html

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