Stories

When countries closed their borders in a bid to limit the spread of COVID-19, thousands of EU citizens remained stranded abroad. The EU’s emergency response coordination centre addressed their call for help, organising support from across Europe. Spain responded by flying 1,100 of them back home.

What exactly is the Humanitarian Air Bridge, and how is it making a difference? We met the people behind these operations to learn about their organisation and the impact they're having on the lives of those in need.

“I opened the front door and I heard screaming, and everything in my apartment started to fall from the shelves,” says Jonathan, who has been working with EU humanitarian aid in Gaziantep, Türkiye, for almost 5 years.

In pictures, see how the EU is responding to forest fires across Europe.

In August, several devastating fires have burned large areas of forest and forced people to flee their homes. Following a request for assistance by France, the EU launched one of its largest emergency operations in the country.

The EU, together with its partners, supports Ukraine with emergency assistance, both humanitarian aid and civil protection.

The EU is supporting the COVID-19 vaccination in Sierra Leone and Liberia, including the most isolated areas.

The Chaco is the westernmost department of Paraguay, a vast region almost the size of Greece and Portugal together.

Poverty, remoteness, insecurity, climate change and COVID-19 make the nutritional crises in the Sahel worse.

A warm gust of wind kicks up a cloud of sand as children play outside the flimsy makeshift dwellings that make up Dadaab, one of the world’s largest refugee camps.

“War is the most terrible thing in the world.” Polina, a 19-year-old student from Ukraine, left Ukraine on the first day of the Russian invasion.

Last year, torrential rains flooded the desert, wiping entire villages off the map. The downpours drowned livestock, devastated precious crops and 14 people lost their lives. A year later, the country faces a new challenging lean season. EU humanitarian aid is there to assist the most vulnerable.

With early heat waves across Southern Europe and major fires raging in Spain, the 2022 forest fires season is taking off with a jump start.

Feeling safe and being social are crucial for children in times of war. Kindergarten children in Slavutych, in northern Ukraine, will be safe in a bomb shelter that was restored and equipped by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

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Zuhur fled the war in Syria with her husband and baby son. Although Zuhur was grateful that her family had found safety in Turkey, she started feeling depressed and stressed, trying to cope with the changes she was going through.

With EU humanitarian funding, the IRC has been able to offer young girls in north-eastern Nigeria spaces where they can learn in a supportive and nurturing environment.

Bangladesh continues to be a safe haven for over 900,000 Rohingya refugees.

What are the main drivers of this global food insecurity? What countries are affected? And how is the EU helping?