2023-08-18 04:06:30
On the occasion of World Humanitarian Aid Day, Jugend Eine Welt is calling on Austria’s federal government to decide on the forthcoming strategy for this in a timely manner.
We need this strategy so that, in the event of a disaster, the necessary capacities to provide humanitarian aid are available and this can be used accurately and effectively
Reinhard Heiserer, managing director of Jugend Eine Welt, with an appeal to Austria’s federal government to finally adopt the “Humanitarian Aid Strategy” that has been worked out for two years
Vienna (OTS) – Since it was founded in 1997, the Austrian development organization Jugend Eine Welt has supported no fewer than 200 humanitarian emergency aid projects in all parts of the world. This elementary help for people who are in need through environmental disasters, pandemics, famine, destructive conflicts and wars, often through no fault of their own, has become increasingly important in view of the overlapping multiple and sometimes long-lasting crises of recent years. Thanks to loyal donors, private sponsors and state support from the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) as well as a worldwide network of partners on site in the crisis regions, Jugend Eine Welt can help quickly and efficiently in such emergencies.
“What is causing us problems, however, is the availability of public funding for this area, which is still unplannable.”explained Jugend Eine Welt Managing Director Reinhard Heiserer on the occasion of tomorrow’s World Humanitarian Day. For almost two years now, a fully developed “Strategy for Humanitarian Aid of the Republic of Austria” has been on the table. However, this strategy has not yet been adopted by the federal government. They are silent regarding the reasons for this.
Heiserer therefore agrees with the renewed appeal of the development policy umbrella organization “AG Global Responsibility”, in which the government is urged to “decide on the strategy as quickly as possible and also to provide sufficient financial resources for it”. The latter must be over in view of the global crisis spiral go beyond a pure inflation adjustment. According to UNOCHA, there are currently almost 70 crises worldwide, and around 360 million people are now dependent on humanitarian aid.
Effective use
“We need this strategy so that in the event of a disaster the necessary capacities to provide humanitarian aid are available and this can be used accurately and effectively”
, according to Heiserer. It is also important to achieve good interaction between humanitarian aid on the one hand and long-term development cooperation on the other. Not only has the need for humanitarian aid increased steadily of late, the crises that triggered it are lasting longer and longer (keyword: Ukraine war). According to Heiserer, this sometimes makes it necessary to provide “classic” development cooperation in addition to humanitarian aid or to maintain it – because it was already in place before the emergency.
While humanitarian aid aims in the short term to ensure the survival of people following a disaster, development cooperation aims to improve living conditions and the economic, social, ecological and political situation in the long term and sustainably. So that people without material need can shape their lives on their own responsibility. According to Heiserer, the two are increasingly “merging”.
Emergency help on site
For 26 years, Jugend Eine Welt has been committed to long-term projects worldwide that primarily help disadvantaged children and young people under the motto “Education overcomes poverty”. It was clear from the start that in the event of a crisis or disaster, the project partners in the large Don Bosco network would not be left in the lurch. These are on site, know the local conditions and the people affected and can provide humanitarian aid immediately or directly. Jugend Eine Welt then tries to support the local structures and strengthen them with financial help as quickly as possible and according to available resources.
An interaction that has recently taken place in Ethiopia. For years, Jugend Eine Welt has been supporting the development and operation of a solar technician training course in the vocational training centers of the Don Bosco partners. When the civil war broke out in the Tigray region almost three years ago, school operations there came to a standstill. Thanks to the existing structures, however, the partners might be given urgently needed financial means and important aid deliveries for the survival of the people in Tigray (following some effort) might be organized, which in turn were distributed via the idle facilities of the partners.
The situation is similar in Syria, which was badly hit by the earthquake in the Syrian-Turkish border region last February. There too, for example in Damascus and Aleppo, there are long-standing project partners who immediately opened their facilities, which fortunately were hardly damaged, to those seeking protection. However, their financial possibilities and supplies had long since been exhausted by this time. Thanks to the rapid provision of funds and networking with other actors in disaster relief, the local partners were subsequently able to help the quake survivors with blankets, clothing, medicine, water and food. In Syria, which has already been devastated by the war, reconstruction will still require international support for many years to come.
Donation deductibility effective
“The willingness of our donors to donate in emergencies in addition to long-term project support is great”, Heiserer knows. This was particularly evident in the Ukraine aid. Many companies have also used the opportunity created by the Ministry of Finance to be able to deduct 100 percent of donations for disaster relief as a business expense from taxes. An effective government measure that would be desirable for the entire area of humanitarian aid. “This needs a solid state basis in the form of a long-term strategy with sufficient funds”Heiserer concludes.
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