In Kilis, a community centre by the International Blue Crescent Relief & Development Foundation (IBC), provides a safe space for local and refugee children to learn, play and recover. In addition, women also receive support to help them overcome the trauma they have experienced.

With funding from the EU, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) helps girls like Lina through difficult times.

For thousands of migrants, Colombia's northern coastal town of Necoclí is the first step of a long journey. The destination: what they hope will be a better life.

Over 40 million people are currently facing starvation in the Sahel, including in Burkina Faso, where conflict is the leading cause of food insecurity. At least 1.7 million people are internally displaced due to the ongoing violence - including almost 900,000 children.

In Colombia, thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes due to the conflict. Maria Victoria* (60) is one of them.

Rehaf fled the war in Syria with her 2 daughters in 2015. The young mother found safety in Turkey and managed to build a new life and future for herself and her children.

The EU has supported vaccination campaigns against COVID-19 throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. In addition to the COVID-19 vaccination campaigns, EU funding supports the rollout of routine childhood immunisations.

Thanks to UNICEF and the EU’s humanitarian support, health workers like Sedelia provide essential services to mothers and children.

The repression of paramilitary groups in her native Nicaragua forced Maria and her family to flee to Costa Rica at the end of 2018.

Refugee children are receiving help to overcome their trauma and, even for a short time, forget their worries.

Nelofar lives in Istanbul with her husband and 5 children. Fearing persecution in their home country Afghanistan, she was forced to flee to Turkey together with her family.

Over the past 4 decades, the constant conflict has vastly deteriorated Afghanistan’s ability to cope with the effects of climate change.

Conflict, crisis, COVID-19, cholera, and, as if things couldn’t possibly get worse, the strongest earthquake in a lifetime – there seems to be no end to the suffering of people in northern Syria.

Afghanistan is grappling with an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. In 2023, a staggering 28.3 million people – or two-thirds of Afghanistan’s population - require urgent humanitarian assistance to survive.

Since it was set up, the EU Civil Protection Mechanism has been responding quickly and collectively to emergencies and disasters.

When western Nepal was hit by floods in 2021, those most affected received cash grants distributed by the Nepal Red Cross Society.

War, power cuts, freezing temperatures: Ukrainians are going through one of the most arduous winters in recent history after Russian attacks have left millions without reliable access to electricity and heating.

A number where anyone anywhere can reach emergency services at all times of day and night seems evident since Europe adopted 112 as its emergency number in 1991. But that’s not the case everywhere.

The past 12 months have brought unprecedented humanitarian challenges.
The EU’s civil protection and humanitarian aid operations department has been working on helping the most vulnerable people worldwide.