DEC launches Middle East Humanitarian Appeal
Melanie May | 17 October 2024 | News
The Disaster Emergency Committee is today launching an appeal to support the millions of people across Gaza, Lebanon and the wider region whose lives have been devastated by the conflict with Israel.
All 15 of the DEC’s members are either responding or planning to respond in the Middle East and will receive funds from this appeal. 14 are responding now in Gaza and Lebanon, and 8 in the West Bank, including British Red Cross, Oxfam and Save the Children.
The Middle East Humanitarian Appeal will raise funds to support this work. It will be broadcast on the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky today (17 October) following the evening news. BBC radio appeals will be broadcast throughout the day.
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In Gaza, thousands of people are dying of hunger and disease, as well as injuries caused by the conflict. Food and clean water are scarce with 2.1mn people having insufficient to eat, and 90% of the population have been displaced, often multiple times. More than 42,000 people have been killed.
In Lebanon, more than a million people have had to leave their homes in recent weeks. Shelters are overwhelmed, and hospitals are struggling to treat the thousands of people injured.
In the West Bank, water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure has been damaged by ongoing violence and families have been displaced from their homes.
The funds raised will allow DEC charities and their local partners to scale up their response and reach more people. £100 for example could provide emergency shelter for five families, while £50 could provide emergency food, for five families for one week, and £30 could provide blankets for six people.
The DEC is also monitoring the situation in Israel where people have also been displaced and are living with the trauma of the conflict. A number of DEC charities are ready to expand their response to include Israel if significant unmet humanitarian needs are identified.
DEC Chief Executive Saleh Saeed said:
“Millions of people, including many thousands of children, are dealing with almost unimaginable trauma. Many have been displaced multiple times and have no homes to return to. Now food and medical care is scarce and families face devastating choices to survive.
“DEC member charities are responding right now in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank, providing lifesaving food, water, shelter and medicine – this humanitarian support is a vital lifeline for millions of people in overwhelming need of assistance. But our member charities urgently need more funds to meet the huge levels of need. We are asking people to please donate now to save lives.”
Rachael Cummings, Humanitarian Director at Save the Children, who is just back from Gaza, said:
“What we are seeing right now is a humanitarian catastrophe on an entirely new level. There is nowhere safe for children and families to go.
“The rate that people’s health is deteriorating is extraordinary. Previously healthy communities are just wasting away. We are seeing increases in children with diarrhoea, jaundice, respiratory conditions – which are all illnesses that, when combined with extreme hunger, can kill a child in days.
“Children have also had their education completely disrupted for over a year and will bear the brunt of this conflict for years to come.
“We are doing all we can to respond to children’s needs and are urging the UK public to donate to the DEC appeal, so we are able to deliver the vital aid that children and their families, who have lived through this brutal conflict, so desperately need.”
UK Aid Match
The UK government is to match the first £10 million of donations.
Anneliese Dodds, Minister of State for Development, said:
“The suffering of civilians impacted by the conflict across the Middle East is intolerable. Humanitarian support is urgently needed for the most vulnerable people. Charities play a crucial role in providing help to those most affected, and need your support.
“That is why we are matching public donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s Middle East Humanitarian Appeal to provide urgent humanitarian assistance up to £10mn. This will be used to provide life-saving aid including medical supplies, shelter and clean water to those who need it most.”
Earlier this week, major charities issued a statement urging global leaders to act immediately to protect northern Gaza, which they said was being ‘wiped off the map’.
Big Give launches appeal
Big Give has also launched an emergency Middle East Humanitarian match fund in partnership with the Disasters Emergency Committee. All funds donated via Big Give will be doubled by philanthropic partners.
For the DEC Turkey & Syria Earthquake Appeal, which closed in March 2023, Big Give raised £2.21 million, and for the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, which closed in June 2022, Big Give raised £3.56 million. Both totals include match funding.
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.