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.
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