Belgium gave almost 170 million euro in humanitarian aid during 2019
According to figures from the federal department responsible for humanitarian aid, Belgium gave 170 million euro in humanitarian aid in 2019. A large portion of the aid went to projects to help those impacted by the war in Syria and to projects in Eastern Congo.
56.4 million euro went to the Middle East. Of this 25.4 euro went to Syria, 9.5 million euro to the Palestinian occupied territories, 7.9 million went to help victims of the war in Yemen and 7.2 million euro to projects in Iraq.
Another large chunk of the Belgian development aid budget (28.5 million euro) went to the African Great Lakes region. Of this 14.2 million went to projects in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Sahel countries received 18.3 million euro.
80% of the humanitarian aid budget went to international organisations.
Belgian and international NGOs received a total of 20 million euro, around 12% of the total.
In a press release, the Minister responsible for development aid in Belgium’s caretaker federal government Alexander De Croo (Flemish liberal) underlined the leading role that our country plays when it comes to humanitarian issues. Humanitarian issues form an important plank of Belgium’s work as a member of the UN Security Council, Mr De Croo added.