ReliefEU

What is it?

ReliefEU is an emergency response tool that can be activated by humanitarian partners and organisations to support response operations in case of sudden disasters or the deterioration of an ongoing crisis. It aims to provide effective, efficient, and timely assistance to people in need: 

• ahead of a predictable and immediate hazard in the aftermath of a disaster
• in protracted crises where operational gaps are identified

ReliefEU consists of 2 main elements: 

ReliefEU activities are funded via a dedicated Humanitarian implementation plan (HIP), covering unforeseen humanitarian needs emerging after the adoption of the Worldwide Decision that cannot be immediately covered by geographic or regional HIPs.

Facts and figures

Through its humanitarian efforts, the EU provides vital support to those most in need.

Why is this important?

Today, humanitarian needs are at an all-time high, with increasing levels of vulnerability due to sudden crises and unforeseen disasters increasingly affecting people worldwide. According to the  United Nations, by the end of December 2025, over 239 million people around the world were in urgent need of humanitarian assistance and protection while new challenges continue to rise. As humanitarian actors confront fast-evolving emergency scenarios, rapid field response becomes critical as even short delays in responding can cost lives. 

ReliefEU is a key EU tool to meet these challenges as it aims to respond to sudden humanitarian disasters where swift assistance is vital and address new developments in protracted crises. Through ReliefEU, we:

• provide emergency humanitarian aid to people affected by natural hazards or human-induced disasters under exceptional circumstances
• support humanitarian partners with funding or capabilities to deliver rapid, effective, and principled assistance
• demonstrate EU leadership upholding principled humanitarian assistance
• promote the collaboration between the EU and EU Member States, a Team Europe approach 

How are we helping?

ReliefEU, managed by the Emergency Response Coordination Centre (ERCC), ensures a swift humanitarian response to sudden onset disasters and/or worsening of existing crises. ReliefEU aims to support humanitarian partners’ operations in the form of capacities or funding. Additionally, it contributes to Team Europe approaches, offering further opportunities for EU Member States to work together to respond to emergencies. 

ReliefEU capacities 

ReliefEU Capacities provides humanitarian emergency operational tools designed to offer rapid but temporary support to partners cover immediate needs of the affected population, to fill operational gaps and to strengthen humanitarian access through different instruments. The capacities include the provision of common logistics services to humanitarian partners in the form of international and in-country transport operations (across various modes of transport).

• warehousing capacities   
• prepositioning and delivery of emergency stockpiles, and other supply chain/logistical support and coordination
• deployment of expertise and capabilities, such as working and accommodation space as well as experts in multiple sectors, such as emergency medical technician (EMT) for physical rehabilitation

Common logistics services

EU humanitarian air bridge (EU HAB) provides international cargo transport to humanitarian organisations or EU Member States on an ad hoc basis when commercial options are unavailable or limited. The objective of this tool is to enhance humanitarian access by overcoming logistical or administrative barriers  as well as to ensure mutualisation of resources among the humanitarian community. 

EU humanitarian aid flight (EU HAF) provides regular passenger transportation solutions to humanitarian organisations, with a focus on regions where many EU funded projects are implemented, on deep field destinations, or on acute emergencies which require increased aerial support. EU HAF is a partnership established with WFP’s United Nations humanitarian air services (UNHAS).

Warehousing

ReliefEU also provides warehousing and last mile delivery transportation, including cold chain, to provide humanitarian partners with stand-by capacities, to support and facilitate the immediate delivery of humanitarian assistance. 

Stockpiles 

Through 7 regional stockpiles hubs, ReliefEU ensures the rapid availability of relief items in sudden crises, especially where the national and international mechanisms are overwhelmed. 

The stocks are procured, managed and released by European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations to partners, and currently hosted in 7 locations worldwide: 

Brindisi, Copenhagen, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Nairobi, Panama and Barbados.

Items are provided free-of-charge to European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations partners with an active contract with DG ECHO, prioritising those already active in the target area or implementing compatible projects. Along with logistics, the other sectors covered include:

Deployment of expertise

ReliefEU supports the deployment of different types of experts in emergencies, such as logistics coordination or information management. The aim of this capacity is to provide rapid surge specialised expertise in humanitarian crises, ensuring fast, efficient and complementary deployments alongside ongoing response efforts. Public health response is strengthened through deployments from the European centre for disease prevention and control (ECDC) and the EU health taskforce, supporting outbreak response and health emergency preparedness.

Emergency rehabilitation specialised care teams (SCT) are deployed under the World Health Organization (WHO) EMT mechanism to address urgent rehabilitation needs in disaster-affected areas. These teams help reduce complications for individuals with injuries or pre-existing conditions.

ReliefEU funding

ReliefEU funding includes 2 instruments to allow for fast response to disasters: 

• all-emergencies response tool (ALERT)
• support to the IFRC disaster response emergency fund (DREF)

ALERT is an EU rapid first-line funding tool for its humanitarian partners that aims to provide a swift response to sudden emergencies (natural and/or human-induced, including outbreaks of epidemics). 

It facilitates a quick injection of funding to support the immediate response of humanitarian actors who are already on the ground to cover the needs of the most vulnerable population for sudden disasters. 

Since 2009, we have contributed to responding to small and medium-scale humanitarian disasters via the IFRC-managed DREF. This cooperation supports disaster response operations carried out by National Societies of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. 

Operations

Since its inception in January 2025, ReliefEU has responded to humanitarian emergencies in 29 countries addressing epidemics, earthquakes, floods, and conflicts among others, and in the context of protracted crises.