Humanitarian Aid
Humanitarian aid is intended to save lives, alleviate suffering and maintain human dignity during and after artificial crises and disasters caused by natural hazards, as well as to prevent and strengthen preparedness for when such situations occur. The fundamental humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence should govern humanitarian assistance. These fundamental principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (RCRC) are reaffirmed in UN General Assembly resolutions and enshrined in numerous humanitarian standards and guidelines [Wayback Machine].
Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance to people who need help. It is usually short-term help until long-term help by the government and other institutions replaces it. Among the people in need are the homeless, refugees, and victims of natural disasters, wars, and famines. Humanitarian relief efforts are provided for humanitarian purposes, including natural and man-made disasters. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity. It may be distinguished from development aid, which seeks to address the underlying socioeconomic factors which may have led to a crisis or emergency. There is a debate on linking humanitarian aid and development efforts, reinforced by the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016. However, the conflation is viewed critically by practitioners [Peruvemba].
Defining humanitarian assistance. Wayback Machine. Retrieved from: https://web.archive.org/web/20171102215158/http://www.globalhumanitarianassistance.org/data-guides/defining-humanitarian-aid