What Are Humanitarian Projects?

A humanitarian project provides material or logistical assistance to a group of people or a country in need of aid. Projects vary among those necessitated by man-made disasters, natural disasters, poverty and aid development. As such, the focus of each project differs. There are many humanitarian organizations such as the World Food Programme that works towards providing food for communities most in need.

Poverty

Humanitarian projects often focus on poverty-stricken areas. These areas will have been in poverty for a long time and the living conditions and quality of life will typically be very low. Some of the most poverty-stricken areas in the world are located in Africa, in countries such as Liberia, Somalia, Sudan and Angola. Other poverty-stricken areas include Latin American countries such as El Salvador and Nicaragua and a number of Asian countries. Humanitarian projects to these parts of the world usually send aid such as money, farming tools, medicine and building materials.

Natural Disasters

Humanitarian projects exist in areas that have experienced natural disasters such as the 2011 earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand, the tsunami in South East Asia and a series of earthquakes in Pakistan. Humanitarian groups send building supplies and food as well as medical equipment since these are the most important and immediate necessities for people in a disaster zone.

Man-Made disasters

Man-made disasters include crime, terrorism, war and civil disorder. Humanitarian aid is sent to these areas in different forms. For example, social workers are usually sent to areas of crime to try to encourage people away from a life of drugs, crime or gang life. Soldiers or police staff will typically be sent into areas of civil disorder and will bring with them supplies for people adversely affected by the civil disorder. New Orleans is an example of an area of civil disorder after hurricane Katrina. War zones are difficult for humanitarian agencies to access due to the high level of danger. Usually aid is sent with, or is often accompanied by a branch of the military such as the army, coast guard or national guard.

Development Aid

In developing countries, humanitarian aid is often sent to help boost the economy and aid development further. For example, India received much development aid from other countries and it now has one of the world's largest economies. Brazil and the Republic of Ireland are other examples of countries that received development aid and had a large economic growth as a result. This is usually governmental aid as opposed to humanitarian charity groups as the volume of money needed to boost a country's economy is generally too big for any organization to manage on their own.