People being provided with water from a tank in South Sudan
In South Sudan, Swiss Humanitarian Aid has built several water supply points to provide local communities with drinking water. © SDC

Disaster risk reduction, emergency relief, reconstruction are three fields of activity of the Humanitarian Aid of SDC. This corresponds to the work that needs to be done before, during and after a crisis, armed conflict or disaster.

Prevention refers to all of the measures taken in terms of protection of the population and infrastructure.  Hazard prevention and vulnerability reduction are part of sustainable development and are promoted in all SDC projects and programmes. The main goal of emergency relief is to save lives and alleviate the worst suffering caused by a crisis. Two-thirds of the Humanitarian Aid’s funds are earmarked for emergency relief measures. Reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts can begin after an emergency when the situation has stabilised. In situations of protracted conflict, activities in all three fields may be carried out at the same time. 

On the other hand, protection of civilians is one of the four thematic priorities of the Humanitarian Aid of SDC beside disaster risk reduction, water/sanitation/hygiene, and gender-based sexual violence.

Disaster risk reduction

While natural disasters strike both rich and poor countries, the consequences differ greatly depending on the level of a country’s development.

Rapid Response and Emergency Relief

Swiss emergency relief operates through its experts from the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit (SHA) in crises, conflicts and disasters worldwide.

Reconstruction and rehabilitation

Generally speaking, reconstruction and rehabilitation is chiefly concerned with restoring the living conditions of the stricken community.

Protection

Survivors of armed conflict and natural disasters are exposed to the risk of physical and mental violence.

Current projects

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Improving humanitarian policy and practice by providing support to HERE-Geneva, a new Geneva-based actor working on humanitarian policy

01.01.2017 - 31.12.2018

Independent research and dialogue on policy and practice is indispensable to improving the effectiveness and quality of humanitarian action. Working in close collaboration with governments, operational humanitarian actors, and others, HERE-Geneva delivers independent reports and studies based on research and evidence with a view to influencing policy and changing behaviour.


Contribution to Ground Truth Solutions 2017

01.01.2017 - 31.12.2017

By supporting Ground Truth, Switzerland strives to ensure people and communities vulnerable to risk and affected by disaster, conflict or poverty, do influence and have access to quality assistance and can hold organizations accountable. Ground Truth believes that the best way to plan humanitarian programmes and gauge their impact is to include the perspective of people at the receiving end of aid, and has set-up tools to do so.


Contribution 2017-2019 to WHO Project “Attacks on Health Care”

01.01.2017 - 31.12.2019

To demonstrate and reinforce its engagement in promoting the protection of the medical mission, SDC’s Humanitarian Aid supports a project conceived and implemented by WHO, whose overall goal is to make sure that essential life-saving health services are provided to emergency-affected populations unhindered by any form of violence or obstruction. Based on the collected data, the project will launch advocacy policies and promote the issue through, among others, the exchange of best practices.


Strengthening of UNHCR Community-Based Protection Project

01.01.2017 - 31.12.2017

In line with the Good Humanitarian Donorship (GHD) principles, Switzerland recognizes the necessity of predictable and flexible funding to respond to changing needs in humanitarian crises. SDC funding allows UNHCR to improve its protection approaches and activities towards persons of concern, including internally displaced persons through the development of adequate processes and mechanisms guaranteeing quality standards in UNHCR programmes.


CERAH Core Contributions 2017-2020

01.01.2017 - 31.12.2021

CERAH’s mission aims at enhancing the capacity of individual and institutional humanitarian actors to devise and bring relevant, adapted and timely responses to the plight of populations affected by armed conflict, disasters or social exclusion. To that end, it aims at strengthening the competencies of humanitarian professionals through internationally recognized education and training, at improving humanitarian responses through critical research of humanitarian concepts, policies and practices and to stimulate debate on selected humanitarian issues to further critical and innovative thinking. This project aims at furthering systematization and professionalization of humanitarian activities and actors, with the stated goal to make the humanitarian sector more coherent and accountable.


Projet Oriental Protection Migrants Maroc

01.01.2017 - 31.03.2018

Morocco is a country of transit and destination for migrants and refugees, 20’000 of which live on the margins of society, despite the 2014 adopted first ever migration strategy, promising the respect of human rights and access to public services. The “Projet Oriental” facilitates access to health care and provides humanitarian support to 5’600 vulnerable migrants per year and coaches public and civil society service providers to care for the specific needs of the migrants.


Humanitarian Quality Assurance Initiative, 2017-2019

01.01.2017 - 31.12.2019

By supporting the Humanitarian Quality Assurance Initiative (HQAI), at the moment where it is building its sustainability, Switzerland strives to ensure humanitarian organizations have a measurable tool to track their progress against effectiveness and accountability to affected populations, with their application of the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS), and continuously improve. This is done through the verification and certification processes of HQAI which acts as an independent organization.


Allocation of SDC Funding to WFP Operations in 2017

01.01.2017 - 31.12.2017

In line with the Good Humanitarian Donorship (GHD) principles, Switzerland recognizes the necessity of predictable and flexible funding to respond to changing needs in humanitarian crises. SDC funding to WFP operations allows the World Food Programme (WFP) to respond proactively and to provide immediate food assistance in life-threatening situations.



TUR CONCERN Capacity Strengthening of local NGOs for Effective Refugee Response in Turkey

01.12.2016 - 31.01.2018

Civil Society (CS) in Turkey only recently has developed a humanitarian focus. INGOs, donors and the UN rely on a few natinal NGOs to compleent the governmental refugee respone, which is increasingly strained as the Sate is undergoing a severe crisis. Humanitarian CS initiatives have also emerged at local and provincial level, but there institutional and operational capacities are still weak. This project will stregthen the capacities of 10 local NGOs to conduct refugee assistance. 


Support to Village Councils in the West Bank with a focus on Area C

01.11.2016 - 31.12.2021

SDC will support local government units to improve the delivery of basic services in marginalized rural areas of the West Bank with a focus on Area C. This intervention is consistent with the State-building agenda which forms the basis for SDC development programme in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), the promotion of human rights/international humanitarian law and the alleviation of poverty. It is aligned to the Palestinian Authority’s policy framework for Area C. Its operating modalities are harmonized with like-minded donors in the local governance sector.


Ecuador, Technical Support in Earthquake Resistant Reconstruction

18.10.2016 - 31.12.2018

An earthquake of the magnitude of 7.8 (Richter scale) hit Northern Ecuador, on 16 April 2016. Damages were widespread, collapsing structures within hundreds of km’s from the epicenter. Following SDC/HA’s emergency and early recovery interventions, SHA will provide the Ecuadorian government with technical support in capacity building on earthquake resistant construction, capitalizing SDC’s experiences from Pakistan and Haiti.

Object 97 – 108 of 114