Humanitarian Action and Diplomacy in Spain: protection, relief and efficient response
What is Humanitarian Action?
Humanitarian Action aims to protect and save lives, prevent and alleviate human suffering, meet people's basic and immediate needs and promote their rights, all from a perspective of reducing vulnerability and building capacity.
In this regard, the Master Plan for Spanish Cooperation for Sustainable Development and Global Solidarity 2024-2027 , with its slogan of leaving no one behind, addresses the paradigm shift established by the Agenda for Humanity following the 2016 World Humanitarian Summit and the humanitarian Grand Bargain from the same year. March 2019 also saw the adoption of the new Spanish Cooperation Strategy for Humanitarian Action (2019-2026) , with a multilateral approach and a pro-European perspective.
The Council of Ministers approves the first Humanitarian Diplomacy Strategy
Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation's Humanitarian Action Office: coordination and leadership
The Humanitarian Action Office of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), created in 2007, is in charge of coordinating and assuming a leadership role for Spanish humanitarian action. As a body of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, the Office oversees the management and implementation of aid in humanitarian crises and represents Spain in international and regional humanitarian forums.
The Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation's Impact on Humanitarian Action: millions of beneficiaries and resources invested
Since its creation, the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation has managed more than one billion euros and reached over three million people hit by humanitarian crises, whether due to conflict or natural disasters, in Syria, the Sahel and Lake Chad, the Sahrawi Refugee Camps, the Palestinian Territories or Latin America and the Caribbean.
Spanish Cooperation logistics centres: effective response to humanitarian crises
In addition to its humanitarian focal points (Panama, Jerusalem, Amman, Algiers/Tindouf, Addis Ababa, Bamako and Niamey), the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation has three logistics centres to maximise its response capacity:
- Humanitarian Logistics Centre in Torrejón de Ardoz (Madrid), capable of operating in multiple crises simultaneously.
- United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot (UNHRD) in Panama, with pre-positioned emergency supplies.
- Humanitarian Logistics Base of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
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The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation during his visit to the United Nations Supply Depot in Panama in March 2024. Photo: Javier Hernández (Nolsom) / MFA
The START Project's “Red Vests": an immediate response healthcare team
Since 2016, the START (Spanish Technical Aid Response Team) or “Red Vests" project has helped to improve the Spanish humanitarian action response during emergencies. This initiative means Spain has a first-class team of professionals from the public health system, ready for deployment in any part of the world where a humanitarian emergency occurs. In April 2019, this team was deployed for the first time in Dondo, Mozambique, to provide emergency aid following Cyclone Idai.
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AECID START team deployed in the province of Hatay (Turkey), to assist those affected by the earthquake in February 2023. Photo: Miguel Lizana / AECID
Spain in International Humanitarian Forums: continued support and commitment
Spain has demonstrated its commitment to Humanitarian Action and Diplomacy in recent years by rejoining the International Committee of the Red Cross donor group, which it has chaired from July 2023 to July 2024, and by rejoining the World Food Programme (WFP) Executive Board until 2024. Spain has also chaired the ODSG (OCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Donor Support Group) from July 2019 to June 2020 and the Working Party on Humanitarian Aid and Food Aid (COHAFA) during the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2023.
Conclusion: the importance of Humanitarian Action in Spanish Diplomacy
Humanitarian Action is a key part of Spanish diplomacy, demonstrating a firm commitment to international cooperation, reducing global vulnerability and supporting populations affected by crises and conflicts around the world.
recent years, support for humanitarian aid has continued, reflected in actions such as Spain's return to the International Committee of the Red Cross donor group in October 2017, after five years' absence, or its re-entry into the WFP Executive Board until 2024, and in appointments such as the chair of the OCHA Donor Support Group (ODSG) from July 2019 to June 2020.
Related documentation
Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation Humanitarian Action
Spanish Humanitarian Diplomacy Strategy 2023-2026 (Spanish) (English)