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Humanitarian aid means predominantly life-saving and protection during disasters and crises,
both natural and man-made. Humanitarian aid consists in: providing assistance and support to people exposed to long-term crises as well as the
so-called forgotten crises; carrying out short-term projects linked to post-disaster and post-crisis reconstruction, in
co-operation with local institutions, taking into consideration long-term development goals; overcoming difficulties associated with migrations caused by natural disasters or crises caused by human activity; disasters prevention and mitigation of their negative effects.
Funds for humanitarian aid are sourced from the state budget target reserve administered by the Development Co-operation Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the case of the most severe crises, other state institutions may also make a decision to grant humanitarian aid and fund it from their budgetary resources.
Good Humanitarian Donorship Principles (GHD)Polish humanitarian aid will be realised in accordennce with the principles of the Good Humanitarian Donorship and in accordance with The European Consensus on Humanitarian Aid, humanitarian actions will be guided by the following rules: humanity – the centrality of saving human lives, alleviating suffering and maintain human dignity wherever it is found; impartiality – the implementation of actions solely on the basis of need, without discrimination between or within affected populations on the basis of nationality, race, politics and religion; neutrality – humanitarian action must not favour any side in an armed conflict or other dispute where such action is carried out; independence – the autonomy of humanitarian objectives from the political, economic, military or other objectives that any actor may hold with regard to areas where humanitarian action is being implemented. momentum - it is important that aid reaches those needing it in the shortest possible time after a disaster, which causes a humanitarian crisis,. Efficient aid delivery results in a minimizing of damage caused by prolonged crisis (epidemics, famine, weather conditions). adequacy- Polish aid should fully respond to the needs of the population affected by a crisis. It means there is a necessity to collect information from both authorities of the recipient state and from analysis prepared by Polish diplomatic missions, as well as from non-governmental organizations, especially international ones. lowest possible costs of administration- a necessity to ensure that costs of aid-providing (aid planning, transport, administrative service) are as low as possible in comparison to a value of actual help provided. Polish humanitarian aid will be provided, in accordance with the principles listed above, mainly in the form of contributions to international institutions and humanitarian funds and in the form of
co-financing actions of the humanitarian NGOs, above all in Sudan, Chad and Iraq where the humanitarian situation is the most difficult. Humanitarian agencies and organisations operate with permanent, extensive aid distribution networks, which enables them to act more swiftly than governmental and state institutions. Moreover, Polish Embassies also play an active role in humanitarian aid projects.
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