Climate change and the raw materials crisis, population growth, urbanization, extreme poverty and exclusion, armed conflicts and protracted crises in many parts of the world have become global challenges with a direct humanitarian impact. The consolidated appeals issued by the United Nations, which are crucial for quantifying the global need for humanitarian assistance, reached a record 8.83 billion US dollars in 2011. And the need for humanitarian assistance is expected to rise even further. Against this background, international humanitarian assistance is undergoing a paradigm shift. Beyond the reaction to sudden disasters and crises humanitarian assistance increasingly needs to be forward-looking. Responsible humanitarian assistance is not only reactive but also has a formative effect. Risk analysis and management are just as essential as the quick availability of assistance in the case of acute need, while coordinated cooperation with national, regional and international partners is vital. The overriding goal of humanitarian assistance is to help people who are suffering great hardship or who are at risk of great hardship due to a crisis, conflict, natural disaster or another cause according to their needs. The aim is to enable them to live in dignity and security and to alleviate the suffering of those who are in dire need that is beyond their power to alleviate. What causes the hardship is of no relevance. Humanitarian assistance is a mark of ethical responsibility and international solidarity with people in need.