All children in Ukraine – at least 7.5 million under 18-year-olds – are in danger of physical harm, severe emotional distress and displacement, following the escalation in conflict.
As a member of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), we’ve joined forces with 14 leading aid charities to help children and families in Ukraine survive war.
Help us reach children by donating to our #Ukraine appeal today.
We’re on the border of Romania and Ukraine giving supplies to children and families in need.
We’re distributing warm clothes and blankets as temperatures plunge below freezing, providing cash and vouchers to help families pay for food, accommodation and medicines, and also offering vital mental health and education support to children whose lives have been torn apart.
You can help us reach more children and keep them safe.
Funds raised by the DEC appeal will support the work of the 14 leading UK charities, who are helping to stop the spread of the virus and saving lives in refugee camps.
The UK Government is doubling its support to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Coronavirus Appeal, following a huge response from the British public, International Development Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan announced yesterday.
This increase of match funding up to £10 million follows donations of £9.8 million in 9 days – a donation of £25, when matched by the UK Government, could provide two families with essential hygiene kits.
The DEC Coronavirus Appeal is helping to provide lifesaving aid to refugees, who are living in overcrowded camps where social distancing is impossible and therefore face a higher risk of catching coronavirus.
Funds raised by the appeal will support the work of the 14 leading UK charities, making up the DEC, who are helping to stop the spread of the virus and saving lives in refugee camps by:
providing frontline doctors and aid workers with equipment and supplies to care for the vulnerable and sick;
making sure families have enough food to prevent malnutrition, particularly amongst children; and
giving families clean water and soap, as well as information about the dangers of the disease.
International Development Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan said: “The British people have been incredibly generous and compassionate in donating to this life-saving appeal. To double the impact of their kindness the UK Government will match a further £5 million of donations pound-for-pound.
“Together our support is protecting millions of people in the developing world from coronavirus, including those escaping conflict. This will in turn help stop future waves of the disease.”
The announcement takes the total amount of UK aid pledged to end the pandemic globally to £774 million.
This week’s announcement by WFP warns that Covid-19 is contributing to a ‘perfect storm’ of problems that could throw millions of Yemenis into a deeper food crisis.
Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Chief Executive Saleh Saeed says the situation is so acute in Yemen that much more needs to be done now, before hunger levels rise again in the coming months, as forecast in the report.
The DEC Coronavirus Appeal launched last week to help people displaced by conflict and instability in some of the most fragile places in the world – including Yemen – who are now facing the Covid-19 pandemic.
DEC members are already responding in the country and say that many families have lost almost all means of accessing food. In a country that imported 90% of its food even before the war, the ongoing financial crisis and restrictions on imports by warring parties have resulted in massive increases in the price of food.
Muhsin Siddiquey, Oxfam’s Yemen Country Director said: “This new data shows how bleak the situation is for the millions of Yemenis struggling with hunger as conflict has decimated infrastructure, restricted food imports, and led to mass unemployment.
“For millions the Covid-19 pandemic is the final blow, causing a slump in vital remittances and squeezing food imports even tighter.
“I worry that Yemenis are having to choose between dying at home from hunger or risking getting the virus by going out to find food. We really need donations to keep supporting and saving the lives of the most vulnerable people.”
Alex Nawa, Yemen Country Director, Action Against Hunger said: “In Yemen the cost of food has doubled in the last two weeks. In some rural areas it has gone up three times. We think severe malnutrition will increase by 10% in the next few months.
“Food prices have increased because of inflation and because fuel prices have shot up so the cost of transporting food to shops and markets has risen. Fuel shortages have hampered delivery of clean water and caused problems with water pumping.
“There is a lack of knowledge about the virus. When people die they are buried within 12-24 hours. I have seen the number of burials at cemeteries increase over the last few weeks. There is no testing to see if people have died of Covid.
“Families are responsible for burial and don’t wear any PPE, often burying their loved ones with their bare hands. I am very worried that they could then get infected with the virus. It’s a grim outlook here – Covid is having a massive impact.”
Saleh Saeed, DEC Chief Executive, said: “I could never have imagined this happening to my ancestral home country … my friends and family in Yemen share with me how desperate the situation has become and how it has got worse for many.
“First came the war and destruction, then came the hunger and cholera and now the deadly threat of coronavirus making the situation unbearable and the hunger even worse. Some have simply accepted their fate and die quietly at home.”
He thanked the public for donations to the DEC appeal for the seven places it is prioritising. “The UK public have once again demonstrated their generosity and compassion. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has supported the DEC Coronavirus appeal so far, helping us to raise over £14 million.”
The DEC Coronavirus Appeal will help the most vulnerable people in six of the world’s most fragile states: Yemen and Syria; Somalia, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo; and Afghanistan. A total of 24 million displaced people live in crowded temporary shelter in these countries.
The appeal also includes the world’s largest refugee camp – in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, where more than 850,000 Rohingya refugees have sought sanctuary.
Despite the many challenges presented by the pandemic, the 14 DEC member charities are already present and working in refugee and displacement camps. They urgently need more funds to scale up their operations and save lives.
Stay up to date with developments by following the DEC on Twitter or Facebook.
The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) has launched a Coronavirus Appeal to raise funds to help the most vulnerable communities in the world fleeing from conflict and instability who now face the new deadly threat of Covid-19.
The DEC Appeal aims to protect people from the virus in the world’s five most fragile states, plus Afghanistan, the most fragile state in Asia, and the world’s largest refugee camp, in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.
The UK-wide appeal is being driven by urgent humanitarian need – but also by “good sense”, Alexander Matheou, British Red Cross, Executive Director of International told journalists at the appeal’s press launch yesterday.“We’re not safe until we’re all safe,” he said. “The world is interconnected. We need to help each other in this time of need.”
Saleh Saeed, DEC Chief Executive, opened the virtual press conference and said that countries such as Yemen, Syria, Somalia and South Sudan have been weakened by years of war and instability and now face a “new, deadly, silent threat”.
In Yemen – where 50% of health services have been destroyed – the World Health Organization says 1 in 4 people who are contracting Covid-19 are dying. Here, the people face a “crisis on top of a crisis”, Oxfam’s Yemen Country Director Muhsin Siddiquey said.
He said Aisha, a young woman in northern Yemen, told his colleagues: “The coronavirus gives us two very cruel choices: to stay home and die from hunger or go out and die from disease.”
It is the first time that the DEC has launched an appeal for a disaster that has simultaneously affected both the UK and internationally.
The DEC, which appeals for funds in response to overseas humanitarian crises, will help the most vulnerable people in six fragile states: Yemen and Syria; Somalia, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo; and Afghanistan, where a total of 24 million displaced people live in crowded temporary shelter.
The appeal also includes the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, which are one and a half times the population density of New York City – but with nothing like the equivalent health facilities or sanitation.
Saeed was joined by panellists from some of the DEC’s 14 member charities, including Action Against Hunger, ActionAid and Oxfam. Speakers included Dr Louisa Baxter, currently in Dhaka, Bangladesh, en route to Cox’s Bazar as part of the Save the Children Emergency Health Unit.
Saeed said: “Here in the UK, we’ve witnessed great suffering and made unprecedented sacrifices to protect each other and save lives. We have seen too the tireless dedication of staff in our amazing NHS.
“But, imagine living in one of the world’s most fragile states – where there is no NHS – and no other safety nets for the very poorest and most vulnerable.
“Families who have been forced to flee conflict, drought and floods – living in crowded refugee and displacement camps – with little access to clean water, medical care or enough food – now face a new, deadly and silent threat: Covid-19.”
Matheou said there was a triple “hit” creating the biggest humanitarian crises in the world today: pre-existing vulnerability exacerbated by the pandemic; the health impact of the virus itself; and new crises being caused by the secondary economic and social impact of the pandemic.
He said: “People who were already food insecure now face a major hunger crisis. People who were already poor have lost the little income they had. People who were dependent on aid are no longer getting that aid. People who were already at risk of domestic violence are now locked down with the people who threatened them.”
Speaking from Nairobi, Ahmed Khalif, Country Director, Action Against Hunger Somalia said that Somalia – which had already experienced severe droughts, flooding, conflict and locust infestation – was “one step” away from famine. He added that Covid-19 is creating “a perfect storm”, a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions that we have never seen before.
High rates of severe malnutrition, low access to basic services, and weak health systems, already formed a deadly combination in Somalia – and now they face Covid-19. He said his field teams were hearing of far higher cases in the camps than official figures suggested.
Farah Kabir, Country Director, ActionAid Bangladesh, said she was worried that coronavirus would spread like wildfire in the crowded Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, with lack of clean running water, and difficulties with social distancing.
The camps are one and a half times more densely populated than New York City, without any multi-story buildings. It is also in the middle of the monsoon season and it is raining heavily most days causing regular landslides, which could increase transmission of the virus.
She said that people are very fearful because they do not have access to accurate information and many are not coming forward to be tested – they worry they will be deported somewhere like an isolated and flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal, where other refugees have been taken.
“All of us need to come together to support Rohingya refugees, because, if they are not safe, the host communities in Cox’s Bazar will not be safe and all of Bangladesh will not be safe.”
Siddiquey said there was also under reporting and lack of testing facilities in Yemen, so while official figures showed 1,500 cases and 425 deaths, in fact the UK Government estimates there might be as many as 1 million Covid-19 cases.
He painted a picture of living conditions which were incredibly difficult to employ handwashing and social distancing.
He said: “20 million need water and hygiene assistance – with no clean water how can they be expected to keep hands clean? In one camp in southern Yemen in February I saw as many as 7 families members living in a tiny tent 3 x 4 metres – social distancing is not an option for most people.”
The press conference also heard from UK doctor Louisa Baxter, Senior Humanitarian Health Lead at Save the Children, who thanked the DEC for launched the much-needed appeal.
She said that Save the Children was working in Cox’s Bazar to ensure water points are in the right place and that cloth masks are distributed.
Louisa Baxter added: “What Coronavirus has done for me as a doctor is to remind me how terribly and wonderfully interconnected we are, and has exposed the fault lines that the most vulnerable walk every day, the marginalised, those living in conflict, those with food insecurity.”
She said the aid workers were currently trying to understand how the Rohingya community want to be taken care of, “how they want to live, and, when we can’t provide any further care, how they want to die.”
“We have a moment now to remember who we are to each other. And to remember what a child needs in New York or London, they also need in Congo or Afghanistan.”
Saeed paid tribute to the frontline workers in the seven places. “Thanks to all the frontline aid workers and frontline health workers in those countries who are obviously putting themselves at risk in order to save and protect lives.”
The 14 DEC member charities are already present and working in refugee and displacement camps, despite the many challenges presented by the pandemic. But they urgently need more funds to scale up their operations and save lives.
The BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky will be broadcasting appeals in support of DEC fundraising.
Every pound donated by the UK public will be matched by the UK government through its Aid Match scheme up to the value of £5 million. This support will double the impact of the public’s own donations and will ensure that charities working on the ground can reach more of the world’s most vulnerable people as they face the coronavirus pandemic.
To make a donation to the DEC Coronavirus Appeal visit www.dec.org.uk call the 24-hour hotline on 0370 60 60 900, or send a cheque. To donate £10 text SUPPORT to 70150. Texts cost £10 and the whole £10 goes to the DEC CORONAVIRUS APPEAL. You must be 16 or over and please ask the bill payer’s permission. For full terms and conditions and more information go to www.dec.org.uk
Stay up to date with developments on Twitter or on Facebook.
In response to the unprecedented public support for the Disasters Emergency Committee East Africa Crisis Appeal, this weekend the UK Government will match pound for pound the next £5 million donated by the public.
Children reach to have their fingers dipped in ink as part of a WFP/FAO food distribution supported by UK aid in Leer County, South Sudan. Picture: George Fominyen
This is in addition to the £5 million match funding already donated by the UK Government which helped Britain raise a phenomenal £12 million for the DEC appeal in just 24 hours.
International Development Secretary Priti Patel said: “I want to say a huge thank you to the British people. Once again, the life-saving generosity of the British public has exceeded all expectations with their response to this vital cause.
“I’ve seen first-hand how every penny really does make a huge difference to saving lives across East Africa. That’s why the Government will double donations up to £5 million this weekend to make your money go even further.
“The Great British public has acted without hesitation to stop people dying of famine and hunger. Right now UK funded aid is reaching those most in need with food, water and emergency healthcare. Now it’s time for the international community to step up and follow Global Britain’s lead before it’s too late.”
This new support will double the impact of the public’s own donations up to an additional £5 million and ensure that charities working on the ground can reach even more people in need.
This brings total UK Government match funding for the DEC Appeal to £10 million. The UK’s support will go directly to the Disasters Emergency Committee Appeal and provide vital and life-saving emergency supplies.
The Disasters Emergency Committee brings together 13 leading UK aid agencies to raise money at times of humanitarian crisis in poorer countries. By working together we can raise more money to save lives and rebuild shattered communities.
Donations can be made at www.dec.org.uk or by calling 0370 60 60 610.
£25 could provide a month’s supply of life-saving peanut paste to a malnourished child
£60 could provide clean drinking water for two families for a month.
£100 could provide supplies to a clinic treating severely malnourished children for a week.
UK support to Somalia:
In Somalia, more than 6 million people have no reliable access to food and there are 360,000 acutely malnourished children. All the signs are pointing to a famine as bad, or worse, than the one in 2011 which killed 260,000 people. The UK is acting now to prevent this.
We recently announced humanitarian support for Somalia worth £100 million to respond to famine warnings, on top of a further £10 million announced by the International Development Secretary Priti Patel during a recent visit to Somalia.
This £110 million of UK aid support will provide:
Up to 1 million people provided with emergency food assistance
Over 600,000 starving children and pregnant and breastfeeding women provided with nutritional interventions
Over 1 million people provided with safe drinking water and hygiene
More than 1.1 million people provided with emergency health services.
Global Britain will bring the international community together in London for a conference later this year to agree future support to Somalia, which is firmly in the UK’s interests.
UK support to South Sudan:
The situation in South Sudan is dire. Children will die tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that, until the South Sudanese authorities allow food and life-saving aid to reach those most in need.
Famine has now been officially declared in some parts of South Sudan – the first declaration of famine anywhere in the world for 6 years. 100,000 people in Unity State (Leer and Mayendit Districts) are now at risk of starvation.
Almost 5 million face the daily threat of going without enough food and water and 3 million people have been forced from their homes because of ruthless violence and widespread rape.
The UK was one of the first major donors to respond to the UN’s appeal to South Sudan and we are leading the way by making sure millions of people in South Sudan get urgently needed food, water and medicine, as well as longer term support to provide much-needed education.
The UK has announced £100m for 2017/18 that will provide:
food for over 500,000 people
life-saving nutritional support to more than 27,500 children
safe drinking water for over 300,000 people
emergency health services for over 100,000 people
livelihood support for over 650,000 people and
vaccinations for over 200,000 livestock.
The UK is also leading the way in providing support for the region, bolstering help for neighbouring countries such as Uganda (almost £50 million over the last 3 years) to cope with the influx of refugees from South Sudan.
In 2016, the UK’s support to Uganda has provided: food for 650,000 people including 45,000 children; shelter for 56,250 people; blankets, water containers and sanitary towels for 64,000 people; and vaccinated 210,000 children.
The UK will not look the other way while people suffer: the Government of South Sudan must put an end abuses and deliver long-lasting peace.
The international community now needs to step up alongside Global Britain to stop famine spreading and help support stability in South Sudan and the region, which is firmly in our interests.
It is first and foremost the responsibility the country’s leaders to alleviate the pressure on its people, and to stop obstructing the UN, as well as NGOs, who are delivering vital lifesaving aid to the South Sudanese people and ultimately create lasting peace and stability.
UK support to Kenya:
We are responding early and working with the international community to prevent a repeat of the Horn of Africa crisis in 2010/11.
Our support at an early stage has helped mitigate the impact of droughts, saving lives and reducing the need for costly and often late humanitarian appeals.
We have provided 11,500 children under 5 with nutrition.
The Hunger Safety Net Programme (HSNP) – supported by UK aid – aims to reduce poverty and hunger, and build economic resilience for the most vulnerable people in the 4 poorest arid and semi-arid land (ASAL) counties (Turkana, Mandera, Marsabit and Wajir). It covers an area is equivalent to 91% of the UK and 60% of the beneficiaries are women.
HSNP provides small regular cash transfers as an alternative to food aid to support around 600,000 people, empowering people to make decisions about what they need, cutting out the middle man and reducing waste. Payments are made to households and work out at around £3.33 per person per month, paid every 2 months.
HSNP can also rapidly scale up to reach a further 1.5 million people by providing emergency cash transfers to prevent the effects of drought. To date, on the basis of satellite early warning data, HSNP has scaled up support 11 times since 2015, including 3 times in response to the current drought.
All payments are made electronically through biometric systems which are some of the most secure in the world, and mean British taxpayers can be sure that the help they provide goes directly to the less fortunate, not those trying to abuse the system.
HSNP is now a flagship programme of the Government of Kenya, managed by the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) as part of the wider National Safety Net Programme (NSNP). The Government now funds over a third (34%) of the programme, having started contributing in 2013. And the Government will be taking on increased costs in future.
UK support to Ethiopia:
In 2017, a new drought is hitting Ethiopia hard. Over 13 million people are currently in need of food assistance; this figure is likely to rise.
Across the country, 9.1 million people are without access to water, and 1.9 million need support to prevent their cattle dying. 3 million children and pregnant women are projected to be acutely malnourished by May. People urgently need access to clean water, food and healthcare.
In response to the continuing drought, the UK has increased much needed support to Ethiopia by giving an extra £11.5 million to provide around 800,000 people with lifesaving clean water, basic food, and emergency nutrition to malnourished children. This will provide emergency nutrition treatment to 25,000 malnourished children, clean water for 100,000, people and will provide vaccination and treatment to 600,000 cattle.
Ethiopia is hosts over 800,000 refugees, mainly from South Sudan, Somalia and Eritrea. New refugee arrivals from all 3 countries will continue to increase.
The humanitarian situation is worsening. Forecasts for the upcoming spring rains are poor, and the lack of rainfall means there will continue to be humanitarian needs, particularly for water and food, throughout 2017.
As aid flies out from the UK to Nepal, members of the public are being warned to be cautious about charity appeals …
On Saturday 25 April a massive earthquake struck Nepal. It severely shook the lives of at least 5.3m people and left many homeless. Nepal’s major cities, including the capital Kathmandu, have been badly damaged and rural areas near the epicentre have been completely cut off by avalanches.
Already over 3000 people have been confirmed dead and the figure is likely to rise significantly in the coming days. Even those whose homes are still standing are sleeping in the streets because they are terrified by regular aftershocks.
All over the world, people will want to come to the aid of the stricken people of Nepal – but sadly some unscrupulous fraudsters will see the disaster as an opportunity to capitalise on this generosity of spirit.
The Charity Commission is encouraging people wishing to help those affected by the earthquake disaster in Nepal to donate only to established registered charities.
It says charities such as the members of the Disasters Emergency Committee, which has launched a dedicated appeal in response to the earthquake, are experienced in providing emergency help during humanitarian disasters.
The regulator says that most fundraising is genuine, but warns the public to guard against unscrupulous people who exploit the generosity of the public by fundraising fraudulently.
It is urging people not to attempt to send cash or aid out directly themselves and not to forget that there are other ways of supporting registered charities if they cannot afford to or do not want to donate. For example, people can take part in fundraising events and activities organised by a registered charity.
There are laws around collecting money for charity in public which are there to protect donors and make sure that the money raised goes to a genuine charitable cause. The commission says there are simple steps people can take to help ensure they give to genuine registered charities. The tips include:
check for a registered charity number, and check that against the charity’s entry on the commission’s online charity search tool – if you want to give to the DEC appeal, its registered charity number for England and Wales is 1062638
check whether collectors are wearing a proper ID badge and that any collection tin is sealed
if in doubt, ask the collector for more information – a genuine fundraiser should be happy to answer questions and explain more about the work of the charity (please see below for further safer giving tips).
Paula Sussex, Chief Executive of the Charity Commission, said: “The British public is incredibly generous and we want to encourage them to continue giving to people in the most desperate need, such as those affected by the earthquake disaster in Nepal.
Our advice is to give to registered charities that have experience in delivering aid in difficult circumstances in the aftermath of natural disasters. It only takes a few minutes to check whether a charity is registered with us – and if in doubt, ask the fundraiser questions about how your money will be used. Good charities will be more than happy to answer your questions.”
Top tips for checking whether an organisation appealing for donations is a genuine registered charity:
before giving, check the charity’s name and registration number – you can verify this using the online charity search tool on GOV.UK
when approached by collectors, check whether they are wearing a proper ID badge and that any collection tin is sealed
if in doubt, ask the collector for more information – a genuine fundraiser should be happy to answer questions and explain more about the work of the charity
genuine fundraising materials should feature the charity’s name, registered name and a landline contact number – be wary of those that list only a mobile number
look for the FRSB tick logo indicating that the charity is signed up to fundraising regulation, encouraging you to give with confidencewww.givewithconfidence.org.uk
to check whether a fundraiser is authorised to collect money in a public place (they must have a licence), contact your local authority or, if in London, the police – if it is a private place, check with the owner
take care when responding to emails or clicking links to a charity’s website to ensure that they are genuine – instead, search online for your preferred charity to check you have the right web address
after making these checks, if you think that a collection or appeal is not legitimate, report it as a crime to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 and inform the Charity Commission
if in any doubt, contact your favoured charity direct to make a donation