Transitional Development Assistance and Reconstruction

GIZ and its partners combine rapid assistance in emergency situations with a long-term outlook. Thus, they lay the foundations for rapid reconstruction.

Around the world, millions of people face urgent threats to their survival as a result of armed conflict, war and natural disasters. These individuals need rapid assistance. Damage to infrastructure, institutions and social networks make direct action more difficult and hamper long-term, sustainable development. In these emergency situations, GIZ helps to secure people’s survival, meet basic needs and relieve suffering. Through projects of transitional development assistance, it secures and stabilises the livelihoods of particularly needy people and bridges the gap toward long-term, sustainable development.

GIZ’s holistic approach combines immediate assistance with a long-term outlook:

• By strengthening self-help and self-management structures in partner countries, GIZ facilitates a more fluid transition to independent and sustainable development. In doing so, it promotes the skills and abilities of both state and non-state partners to create a solid framework for long-term development.
• Focusing on crisis management, GIZ combines economic, social and environmental development goals with the objectives of combating poverty and ensuring sustainability, thereby creating the basis for structures and measures with a long-term impact. The focus is on rebuilding basic infrastructure and services, on food and nutrition security, on disaster risk management as well as on the promotion of peaceful and inclusive communities.
• However, GIZ does not merely react to crises and catastrophes; it aims at prevention and the strengthening of individuals’ and local structures’ resilience. With its support, the people, state and civil society institutions are better able to stabilize after immediate crises, to adapt to the effects of long-term changes and sustainably transform their livelihoods. Approaches for the adaptation to climate change are one example for increased resilience and preparedness.

GIZ has deep-rooted competences for dealing with crises and emergency situations. For decades it has been managing and implementing complex projects, particularly in regions of increased fragility. It provides rapid emergency assistance and stabilises the situation in crisis regions as quickly as possible. This creates the basis for rapid, wide-ranging and sustainable reconstruction.

In delivering transitional development assistance, GIZ cooperates closely with its national and international partners. These include the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the German Federal Foreign Office (AA), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the European Union and a wide range of international and local non-governmental organisations. Together, the partners tackle the specific challenges in emergency and crisis situations.