ECHO (European Commission)

ECHO (European Commission)

The Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department of the European Commission (ECHO), formerly known as the European Community Humanitarian Aid Office, is the European Commission's department for overseas humanitarian aid and civil protection.

In 2007 it provided €768 million for emergency relief, a number that rose to €930 million in 2009. The EU institutions alone were collectively the second largest donor of official humanitarian aid in 2009 (14.3% of the global total humanitarian aid). The European Union as a whole (European Commission + Member States) is the world's biggest donor of humanitarian aid, providing over 50% of the total humanitarian aid in 2009.

For its humanitarian interventions, ECHO does not implement assistance programmes itself; but funds operations through a wide range of around 200 partners (NGOs, UN Agencies, International organisations such as the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement).