The purpose of humanitarian aid is to save the lives, health and fulfil the basic needs of people who have been affected by a natural disaster or war, or who suffer from instability in their country. At the same time, we provides victims of disasters with psychological and material support and help them to cut loose.
Humanitarian aid is most often needed in crisis caused by war or natural disasters, such as floods, extreme droughts or earthquakes. We have been involved in helping people affected by the wars in Iraq, Syria and Nagorno-Karabakh, working with refugees in Zambia, but also providing assistance to victims of the Beirut Lebanon explosion or extreme frosts in Mongolia.
Although we emphasize development cooperation in our work, we are aware that humanitarian aid is absolutely essential in the event of disasters and war conflicts. We provide assistance to their victims, especially in the following areas.
The provision of basic primary foodstuffs is crucial immediately after a humanitarian catastrophe. In addition to traditional food distribution, we have also been involved in supporting school meals in Iraq, which aims to return children from poor families to schools.
Access to drinking water and adequate hygiene and sanitation are essential to prevent the spread of serious infectious diseases and humanitarian disasters.
The first step after the disaster is to provide temporary shelter in the area of housing, but very soon the damaged homes are being restored to allow the return of the affected residents to their homes as soon as possible.
Any disaster, especially if it is associated with the loss of health, life, one's own home or violence, is psychologically very demanding. We therefore provide psychological care for victims, among other things.
The provision of health care and the distribution of drugs are an essential component of humanitarian aid.
Iraq's recent history has been strongly influenced by armed conflict, sectarian violence and the volatile political situation.
Since 2014, Caritas has been providing humanitarian aid to people affected by the conflict in the east of the country. In response to the invasion of Ukraine by Russian troops, we have significantly expanded our humanitarian activities in the country to help people affected by the war.
We are currently mainly repairing war-torn houses in the Idlib province in northern Syria.
