Humanitarian aid is governed by Act No 151/2010 Coll. on international development cooperation and humanitarian assistance abroad. Humanitarian assistance abroad is the set of activities financed from the national budget in order to prevent loss of life and injury, to alleviate suffering and to restore basic living conditions after an emergency and to mitigate long-lasting consequences of emergencies and to prevent their occurrence and negative consequences.
Humanitarian aid includes both ad hoc response to natural or man-made disasters, and aid in long-term (complex) humanitarian crises and disaster prevention.
State humanitarian aid to foreign countries is financed from funds allocated in the budget of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Humanitarian aid provided abroad can be financed from this budget in particular: material, financial, advisory or combined.
According to Article 9 of Act No. 151/2010 Coll., on international development cooperation and humanitarian assistance abroad, the Ministry of Interior provides humanitarian aid to EU member states and other states of the European Economic Area and decides on its scope and form.
In 2019, the sum of 218 million CZK was originally allocated to humanitarian assistance, during the year the budget was increased by another 28 million CZK for assistance to Syria and for the realization of the MEDEVAC programme at the Czech Embassy abroad. During 2019, 50 humanitarian activities in 27 countries were supported in the total amount of 245,28 million CZK.
The Czech Republic provided humanitarian assistance to following countries in 2019: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ethiopia, Philippines, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, Yemen, South Sudan, Jordan, Cambodia, Lebanon, Mexico, Mozambique, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Greece, Sahel (Mali, Niger), Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela, Zambia, Iraq, Palestinian Autonomous Territories / Gaza.
The allocated budget for humanitarian assistance to foreign countries is 220 million CZK for the year 2020.
In 2019, material assistance was provided to Iran and Greece, and an expert of the Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic was included in the European Union coordination and evaluation team, which was sent to Georgia
Greece
In September 2018, the government of the Czech Republic approved humanitarian aid to Greece under the law on foreign development cooperation and humanitarian aid provided abroad. The reason was the restoration of material after the devastating fires in the Kinetta area on 23 July 2018. The Minister of Foreign Affairs approved CZK 5 million from the Ministry's humanitarian budget for 2019. This humanitarian aid was implemented through the Directorate General of Fire Rescue Service. The Greek Fire Department identified the Fire Rescue Service in Megara for assistance.
After consulting, one Ford Ranger Pick-Up 4x4, one Volkswagen Transporter 4 x 4 minibus, and other equipment needed to perform firefighting tasks in Megara, such as sludge pumps, explosive lamps, air compressors, pressure cleaners, footwear and other equipment for firefighters were purchased. The humanitarian aid convoy set off from the Czech Republic on 22 May and on May 25, 2019, was officially handed over to Megara firefighters with the participation of the Czech Ambassador to Greece.
Iran
In March 2019, Republic of Iran was hit by massive floods, affecting more than 12 million people and 2 million people was in immediate need of humanitarian assistance. In April 2019, at the request of the Iranian authorities, the Civil Protection Mechanism of the Union was activated. Based on the decision of the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Czech Republic offered material assistance, which was received by the Iranian authorities. Material assistance included 16 pcs of power generators, 16 pcs of sewage pumps, 480 blankets, 96 sleeping bags and 16 tents. All material was set aside from the Warehousing and Repair Facility of the Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic. In cooperation with the 24th Air Force Base in Prague-Kbely was planned to transport this material by using the aircraft CASA C-295 M. Two liaison officers were designated to accompany material assistance - Petr Ošlejšek from Fire Rescue Service of the Olomouc Region and Petr Vodička from Fire Rescue Service of the City of Prague. The flight itself took place on 17 April 2019 and on the same day the material assistance was handed over at the airport in Tehran to representatives of the Iranian Red Crescent Community in the presence of the head of the Czech Embassy in Tehran Mr. Svatopluk Čumba. The aid subsequently went to the affected provinces of Lorestan and Khuzestan. The total cost of humanitarian aid was CZK 2 million.
Georgia
On 12 February 2019, Georgia submitted a request to the Union Civil Protection Mechanism for experts for an advisory mission to be held on 13-21 March 2019.
The mission was aimed to provide an assessment of the current situation and to provide detailed guidance on setting up a training center for firefighters, rescuers, local EMS crisis management in Georgia. The aim was to design a training center within the education system at EU level standards.
Georgia asked 11 experts to join the EUCP team. The EU Civil Protection Mechanism through the ERCC requested experts to be nominated for the mission. Member States, including the Czech Republic, offered their experts in the required areas: fire fighting, field rescue operations, CBRN, crisis management, etc.
The Czech Republic chose col. Ing. Jan Hora (Fire Rescue Service of the City of Prague) as an expert in fire fighting, who participated together with other members of the mission team.