The strength and the advantage of the European Commission's department for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) is its worldwide network of 5 regional offices and other field offices in approximately 40 countries.
Overview of humanitarian needs
The presence of field humanitarian staff around the world allows, the Commission to have an up-to-date overview of humanitarian needs in each country or region. Thanks to this, intervention strategies and humanitarian policies can be better developed and tailored to needs. The presence in the field also ensures technical support and adequate monitoring of EU-funded operations and makes coordination with donors at field level easier.
Bringing their expertise from the region
The Commission's humanitarian experts support operations with their specific expertise (in areas such as food or health) or with their knowledge of a country or region, or they provide security or logistics assistance to operations.
The allocation of funds for DG ECHO’s field presence (including opening/closing of offices) depends on the humanitarian needs and context on the ground. Therefore, the size and type of field presence and the number of humanitarian staff working in the field varies from one location to another.
20/01/2026
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