Disasters Emergency Committee launches East Africa Crisis Appeal
Howard Lake | 15 March 2017 | News
With more than 16 million people facing hunger in East Africa, the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) has launched an appeal to enable UK aid agencies to provide more help and support.
The joint fundraising appeal will raise funds for DEC member charities which are already operating in South Sudan, Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia. In these countries drought and conflict have left millions of people in immediate need of food, water and medical treatment.
The aid agencies are ready to increase the scale of their humanitarian support, but they need more funding to reach the millions of people in urgent need.
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TV broadcast
The DEC East Africa Crisis Appeal is launching today and will be shown on all major UK Broadcasters including BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky.
DEC Chief Executive, Saleh Saeed, said: “Hunger on a massive scale is looming across East Africa. More than 800,000 children under five are severely malnourished. Without urgent treatment, they are at risk of starving to death.
“We are hearing that families are so desperate for food that they are resorting to eating leaves to survive. This is something no family should have to endure. Unless we act now the number of deaths will drastically increase. Don’t delay – please donate.”
Match funding
The UK Government will match pound for pound the first £5 million donated by the public to the DEC East Africa Crisis Appeal.
Donations to the DEC East Africa Crisis Appeal can be made by calling the 24-hour hotline on 0370 60 60 610, donating over the counter at any high street bank or post office, or by send a cheque. You can also donate £5 by texting the word SUPPORT to 70000.
Yemen crisis appeal
Since its launch in 1963, the DEC has run 68 appeals and raised more than £1.4 billion.
Its most recent emergency appeal has been in response to the food crisis in Yemen. So far over £20 million has been donated, including £5m in matched funding from the UK government.
Giving by Apple Pay
Last week Apple announced that the DEC is one of 22 UK charities that now accept donations via Apple Pay, so this will be the first new DEC appeal that will be accepting gifts in this way.
Main image: Dahir, six months old, is treated at Save the Children’s stabilisation centre in the Borama Hospital. Dr. Jamac Mohammed Ahmed is treating Dahir at the hospital, where Save the Children has established and maintains a stabilization centre for severely malnourished children. Photo: Colin Crowley/Save the Children.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.