When an armed conflict breaks out or a natural disaster strikes, the local community is not always able to react to the crisis on its own. State authorities do not have sufficient funds, the people afflicted by disaster suddenly lose their possessions and are deprived of access to safe drinking water and other resources which they might find useful in a crisis. In such cases, immediate humanitarian response is needed.

People cope with lack of access to safe drinking water, toilets and food. They are without a roof over their heads, they lose their jobs, and they are deprived of their educational and career opportunities. Conflicts and disasters force people to leave their safe homes and to flee and seek shelter far from danger. Shifting frontlines or an unstable socioeconomic situation in the region prevent them from settling safely in one place. Food and water prices are rising exorbitantly. Some zones are hardly accessible and very often there is no way of delivering any non-food items to them.

WHAT DOES THE POLISH HUMANITARIAN ACTION DO?

Our aim is to provide immediate and effective help to people whose life or health is in danger due to a humanitarian crisis. The principle of humanitarianism, to which we are firmly committed, provides that human suffering must meet with a reaction in any circumstances.

We are engaged in activities intended to immediately provide safe drinking water, food, shelter and the bare essentials to the afflicted people. The effectiveness of our activities is guaranteed by co-operation with local organisations and other relief agencies. This helps streamline the flow of information and ensures fair distribution of humanitarian aid.

Emergency response to a humanitarian crisis involves, among other things, the provision of:

• basic access to water and hygiene (repair and construction of water take-off points, water trucking, distribution of hygiene kits)
• safe shelter (distribution of tents, mattresses, blankets and winter clothes, kits for building temporary shelters)
• basic access to food (food baskets)
• basic medical care (medicine and hospital equipment)