Humanitarian crisis

Marking one year since the devastating earthquakes that shook southern Türkiye, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has issued a call for heightened solidarity to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

A major humanitarian crisis threatens Zimbabwe, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which forecasts almost zero growth in the economy of the African country and a prolonged and severe food insecurity warned.

It is ironic that in politics a smart move can coincide with a failed one. Starting with the second, the government's admission, by the prime minister himself, that it was actually not prepared to deal with the refugee crisis, leaves an unpleasant taste. More important was the fact that Kyriakos Mitsotakis' government seemed to ignore the magnitude of the problem.

Bulgaria will provide financial aid for dealing with the humanitarian crisis in Syria and the region in the amount of BGN 97,792, the government decided at today's meeting, said the government press office. The funds will be provided from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' budget for development and humanitarian aid.

Deputy Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Hoyt Brian Yee says his country "doesn't oppose Russia's helping in humanitarian crises and emergencies."

However, Washington is suspicious of the Russian-Serbian Humanitarian Center in the town of Nis, he told the Belgrade weekly NIN in an interview quoted by Beta.

Deputy Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Hoyt Brian Yee says his country "doesn't oppose Russia's helping in humanitarian crises and emergencies."

The European Commission is making contingency plans to deal with a potential humanitarian crisis in Greece, European Commission spokesperson Natasha Bertaud said on Friday.

“At this time we are preparing an emergency plan, ‘a humanitarian aid mechanism’ in order to avoid a humanitarian crisis in Greece,” she said.

The Greek government has passed measures to tackle the humanitarian crisis in 2016 in order to help the most vulnerable social groups. The legislative act signed on December 24 is aimed to show the government’s commitment to relieve those who have suffered the most as a result of the economic crisis.

The measures passed though the Legislative Act are:

Apart from tough austerity measures, the omnibus bill being voted in Greek Parliament on Tuesday has counter-weight measures to help vulnerable groups deal with the humanitarian crisis:

The European Commission is set to increase in 2016 its humanitarian funding for education in emergencies to 4% of the EU’s overall humanitarian budget. The commitment was championed earlier this year by EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management Christos Stylianides, and has now found strong support from the European Parliament and EU Member States.