Humanitarian aid is seen as a kind of aid in an emergency situation and pressure. It responds to an extraordinary event that can raraly be predicted. Humanitarian aid is usually short.

The spirit of humanitarian aid is the demonstration of solidarity with people in distress through assistance, support and rescue operations, which help people regardless of their ethnic origin, religious or political convictions, mainly the most vulnerable inhabitants of developing countries, victims of natural disasters, crises caused by humans, food shortages or comparable emergency situations. An emergency situation is herewith considered to be a state caused by an extraordinary event that a country is not able to resolve through the employment of its own resources, the effect of which is human suffering or a loss of human dignity.

The important aspect of humanitarian aid is the observance of humanitarian principles, mainly humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and non-discrimination.

Humanitarian aid can also have elements of short-term assistance focused on the arrival of aid in order to avoid worsening of the impact of the crisis and start to help those who are affected, to acquire a minimum level of independence.

Humanitarian aid is also considered part of preventive and emergency programs, mainly in high risk areas, taking the form of establishing effective institutional assistance, strengthening early warning systems and other measures protecting population.

The follow-up of humanitarian aid is implemented, if needed, in the form of assistance to recovery (i.e. post-humanitarian aid) including a broad scale of recovery and construction work that can also serve for preprartion of development programs.

The basic aspects of humanitarian aid provision are:

• its destination and overall impact of assistance provided, i.e. its actual need, speed, appropriate content depending on the needs of the affected population,
• effectiveness of utilization of sources available,
• adequacy of financial and technical means and human resources,
• utilization of international aid coordination,
• and coordination with other humanitarian organizations.