DEC Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal passes £150mn
Melanie May | 3 August 2023 | News
Six months on from its launch, the DEC Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal has reached a total of £151.8mn, DEC has announced.
This makes the appeal the third largest in the DEC’s 60-year history.
The total includes £5 million matched by the UK Government through the Aid Match scheme.
Advertisement
Across both countries, over the first three months following the earthquake, almost half (46%) of aid expenditure went on providing cash payments to more than 40,000 of the families most in need, allowing them to choose how best to meet their personal needs, for example through food, medicine or rent.
During this time:
- 40,300 households received cash or voucher payments to help meet their basic needs
- 427,000 people provided with access to safe drinking water
- 201,000 people received emergency food or a voucher for food
- 48,200 people accessed health services such as mobile clinics, medical kits, and free medication
Saleh Saeed, Chief Executive of the Disasters Emergency Committee, returned this week from visiting DEC-funded projects in Gaziantep, southern Turkey, where he met people affected by the earthquakes. He commented:
“DEC charities are working tirelessly to help people cope and make life more comfortable. From mobile physiotherapy clinics helping people recover from their injuries to psychological support for children, to providing hygiene and sanitation to avoid the spread of deadly diseases – this is vital, life-changing help.
“Donations over the last six months have been remarkably generous and are helping DEC charities continue to address the people’s most pressing needs, on both sides of the border. It’s clear that it will be a very long road to recovery from this terrible disaster, but we met so many people in Türkiye who wanted us to thank the British public and all who have supported them through the DEC.”
Fourteen of the DEC’s 15 members are either responding or planning to respond in Turkey and Syria and will receive funds from this appeal, with some working through trusted local partners. They are Action Against Hunger, ActionAid UK, Age International, British Red Cross, CAFOD, CARE International UK, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide UK, International Rescue Committee UK, Islamic Relief Worldwide, Oxfam GB, Save the Children UK, Tearfund and World Vision UK.
Clynton Beukes, Programmes Director for DEC charity World Vision’s Syria response said:
“Moving on from the initial shock and awe of the earthquake, things have stabilised a little, but the needs here are still huge. People right now are in a situation that I don’t think any of us could ever imagine ourselves being in or wish on anyone.
“I was truly astounded by the generosity of the British public to the people of Syria and Turkey. It’s been humbling to see the amount that’s been raised, and we have been able to use that to meet the needs of people affected by the earthquake. I can tell you without doubt that your donations have meant more than just money to people in Syria. It has meant that they feel like they’ve been seen when they thought they had been forgotten.”
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.