Protracted complex emergencies and natural disasters, including drought, earthquakes, floods, and wildfires, present significant challenges to vulnerable populations in Europe, the Middle East, and Central Asia (EMCA). Between FY 2006 and FY 2015, USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) and USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP) provided assistance in response to a range of disasters, including floods, wildfires, winter emergencies, and complex crises.
Between FY 2006 and FY 2015, USAID provided nearly $3.8 billion for emergency response programs in the EMCA region. USAID/OFDA assistance included more than $1.6 billion for agriculture and food security, health, livelihoods, nutrition, protection, shelter, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) interventions, as well as support for humanitarian coordination and logistics and the provision of relief commodities. USAID/FFP assistance included nearly $2.2 billion for food assistance in the form of U.S. purchased food, locally and/or regionally purchased food, cash transfers for food, food vouchers, and related activities.
In the last decade, USAID deployed six Disaster Assistance Response Teams (DARTs) and multiple humanitarian assessment teams to the region. DARTs deployed to Lebanon in FY 2006, Georgia in FY 2008, and Libya in FY 2011 in response to complex emergencies. During FY 2011, a DART deployed to Israel in response to wildfires. Escalated conflict in Syria prompted USAID to stand up a DART in FY 2013, and a DART deployed to Iraq in the wake of deteriorating security that prompted significant population movements in FY 2014; both DARTs remained active throughout FY 2015. During the past ten years, USAID also activated multiple Washington, D.C.-based Response Management Teams to better facilitate DART coordination and response efforts.
To complement emergency assistance and mitigate the underlying causes of vulnerabilities, USAID/OFDA supports disaster risk reduction (DRR) programming in the EMCA region. USAID/OFDA DRR interventions include technical assistance and technology transfer to build capacity in communities and national agencies, as well as project-level activities, such as seismic-resistant shelter construction. USAID/OFDA DRR activities in FY 2015 included support for strengthening disaster preparedness in Israel and West Bank/Gaza, as well as enhancing regional DRR coordination and preparedness in Central Asia.
Through emergency and development food assistance programs, USAID/FFP works to save lives and reduce food insecurity in times of crisis and situations of chronic food insecurity. In recent years, USAID/FFP has responded to several high-profile crises, including in Iraq, Syria, West Bank/Gaza, and Yemen. Since 2013, USAID/FFP has provided over $800 million in food assistance inside Syria, the vast majority of this assistance being locally and regionally procured food for conflict-affected families. In response to the Syrian regional refugee crisis, USAID/FFP, through the UN World Food Program, has also provided over $600 million in food vouchers and other assistance to refugees in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey. USAID/FFP emergency food assistance includes both in-kind food aid and cash-based assistance in the form of local and regional procurement of food commodities, cash transfers, and food vouchers, where market conditions allow.