Highlights:

The Joint Communication on Humanitarian Aid adopted on 27 May 2026 sets out how the EU will remain a reliable and principled donor in a global aid system under severe pressure.

Humanitarian needs are at an all-time high with 239 million people worldwide in need of assistance, yet current global humanitarian funding can assist fewer than half of the people in need, leaving millions without life-saving support. The number of crises and their duration grow, while funding cuts and insecurity are making life-saving aid increasingly difficult to deliver.

The European Commission and the High Representative are responding with concrete solutions to ensure principled humanitarian aid reaches people in need across the globe. This builds on three pillars: protect, perform and partner.

Protect

The EU will take concrete actions for humanitarian assistance to be delivered safely and without impediments. This means stepping up humanitarian diplomacy in a collaborative Team Europe effort. All available tools, including political and human rights dialogues, advocacy at international level, and coordination in multilateral forum as well as peace mediation and stabilisation will be used to this end.

The EU will also step up measures and funding for the safety of humanitarian workers – from prevention of security incidents to care for victims. Voices of affected people matter – the EU will facilitate a greater role for local actors in the humanitarian response, empower communities, and ensure that our response is inclusive of all, in particular the most vulnerable.

Perform

Through reforming humanitarian supply chains, the EU will maximise cost-effectiveness from procurement to last mile delivery. The EU will also scale-up funding modalities that promote efficiency and predictability of aid and the dignity of beneficiaries, including cash assistance, anticipatory action, multi-year funding, pooled funds and support for local actors. Collective services that enable humanitarian aid delivery, including good quality and shared data on people's needs, will also be further supported.

Partner

The EU will support resilience and peace, as well as provide durable solutions to reduce dependence on humanitarian aid. The EU will be working more closely with international financial institutions, the private sector or philanthropies on innovative ways to provide financing to fragile areas, and people that need it the most, helping them transition from fragility to resilience. Humanitarian Team Europe can deliver more together, and options for pooling resources in a more impactful way will also be explored.