Disasters Emergency Committee launches emergency appeal for people fleeing Myanmar
Howard Lake | 4 October 2017 | News
Thirteen charities have launched a joint fundraising appeal to help the hundreds of thousands of people fleeing their homes in Myanmar who are in urgent need of shelter, medical care, water and food.
The charities are members of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC). They are responding to the movement by more than half a million people, mostly Rohingya women and children, who have sought refuge in Bangladesh from violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.
The DEC are asking the public to donate to help the charities support both the people fleeing Myanmar and their host communities in Bangladesh. The charities are already delivering emergency aid in Bangladesh. The funds raised by the appeal will enable them to expand their humanitarian support to reach more people in urgent need.
The DEC Emergency Appeal is launching today and will be shown on all major UK broadcasters including BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5 and Sky.
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DEC Chief Executive, Saleh Saeed, said: “This is one of the fastest movements of people we have seen in recent decades.
“Families are living in makeshift shelters or by the side of the road with no clean drinking water, toilets or washing facilities. This humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in a country that is already reeling from the worst floods in decades.
“Without urgent support, the risk of disease and further misery is alarmingly high.”
Oxfam in Bangladesh
Oxfam is one of the DEC member charities providing support:
Matched giving
The UK Government will match pound for pound the first £3 million donated by the public to the DEC Emergency Appeal.
Donations to the DEC Emergency Appeal can be made:
- online
- via the 24-hour hotline on 0370 60 60 610
- over the counter at any high street bank or post office
- by cheque
- by texting the word SUPPORT to 70000 (to donate £5).
TV appeals
Writer and comedian Michael Palin presented the DEC appeal on the BBC:
and actor and writer Riz Ahmed presented the DEC appeal on ITV:
WATCH: The story of disaster relief
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.