ReliefWeb

Belgium made € 169.8 million available for humanitarian aid. This is found in the final balance sheet of the humanitarian service of the FPS Foreign Affairs, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Development Cooperation Alexander De Croo is satisfied. "With this, Belgium is continuing its strong humanitarian commitment of recent years.

The humanitarian contributions went through various channels: core contributions to international humanitarian organizations (€30 million), flexible humanitarian funds (€70 million), multi-annual programs for complex crises (€24.7 million) and humanitarian projects in response to forgotten crises (€45.2 million).

Flexible funding

The number of undetected humanitarian contributions is higher and funding for flexible funds also rose to 58%. These figures are in line with the commitment Belgium made at the World Humanitarian Summit and the Grand Bargain in 2015.

"More flexible and less earmarked humanitarian funding allows our humanitarian partners in the field to respond much faster. In this way, more lives can be saved and resources are deployed where they are most needed," says Minister De Croo.

Syrian crisis and Great Lakes

Geographically, most humanitarian funding, 56.4 million, went to the Middle East. The Syrian crisis is the most financed crisis in the region (25.4 million), followed by the occupied Palestinian territories (9.5 million), Yemen (€7.9 million) and Iraq (€7.2 million). More than €28.5 million of humanitarian funds were invested in the Great Lakes region, with a particular focus on the DR Congo (€14.2 million). 18.3 million euros of humanitarian funds were allocated to the Sahel.

More than €149.6 million or 80% of the humanitarian budget went to international organizations, including flexible funds. Belgian and international NGOs received 20 million, or 12% of the budget.

UN Security Council

In addition to financing humanitarian needs, Belgium also plays a leading role internationally on a range of humanitarian issues, such as greater respect for humanitarian principles, humanitarian protection and humanitarian innovation. Humanitarian needs and humanitarian aid are also an important point of attention in Belgium's membership of the UN Security Council.