DEC appeal raises £8 million for Yemen
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Donations can be made at www.dec.org.uk or 0370 60 60 900
For immediate use: Friday 16 December 2016
**Photos and videos of celebrity supporters available**
The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) appeal for Yemen has raised a total of £8 million since it launched on Tuesday, with donations continuing to pour in.
Two years of conflict have pushed Yemen, already one of the world’s poorest countries, to the brink of catastrophe. Half of the population – 14 million people – is going hungry and needs help before it’s too late. A child is dying every ten minutes because of preventable diseases and child malnutrition is at an all-time high.
Despite the conflict, DEC member charities are already reaching millions of people across the country with lifesaving aid, such as food, medical care and clean water, but they need more support to continue helping those in desperate need.
Oscar-nominated actor Tom Hardy has asked the public to show their support. In a TV appeal, he said: “I'm a father and I know that many of our children in the UK are looking forward to holidays and presents right now. Children in Yemen live in a far-off country many of us are not familiar with, but they are children nonetheless, children just like yours or mine, children who are in urgent need of the very basics to survive.
“So at a time of year which is all about giving, a little from us here will make a massive difference there. Because it will save their lives.”
Presenter Clare Balding has also urged people to spare a couple of minutes to give what they can to the DEC appeal for Yemen. “Half a million young children are starving. This is an unbearable situation,” she said in a TV broadcast.
“Operating in areas of conflict is difficult but DEC agencies are working with local teams to deliver aid to communities on both sides. They’re giving food to babies and toddlers who won’t survive without it, providing medical supplies so parents don’t have to choose between feeding their hungry children or buying medicine for their sick ones. And with a cholera outbreak spreading through parts of the country they’re providing clean, safe drinking water.”
Actor Martin Clunes and comedian Sandi Toksvig have also broadcast calls for support for the DEC Yemen Crisis Appeal.
DEC’s Chief Executive Saleh Saeed said: “We’re incredibly grateful to people in the UK for their generous support and compassion for people in Yemen. We’re asking everyone to give what they can to help us continue their work to save lives and prevent the crisis becoming catastrophic.”
The £8 million funds raised is made up of £5 million given by the UK public by text, phone and online, and £3 million from the UK government through AidMatch.
To make a donation to the DEC Yemen Crisis Appeal visit www.dec.org.uk, call the 24-hour hotline on 0370 60 60 900, donate over the counter at any high street bank or post office, or send a cheque. You can also donate £5 by texting the word SUPPORT to 70000.
What your money could buy:
- £25 could provide a month’s supply of life-saving peanut paste to a malnourished child
- £60 could provide clean drinking water for two families for a month
- £100 could provide supplies to a clinic treating severely malnourished children for a week
Stay up to date with developments in Yemen, the emergency response and the fundraising efforts with the DEC on twitter: www.twitter.com/decappeal; on Facebook via www.facebook.com/DisastersEmergencyCommittee or by following #YemenCrisis
-Ends-
Appeal video: Tom Hardy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpcC4uhx4FY&t=1s
Appeal video: Clare Balding: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ3aA0WrE7I
Photos of celebrities supporting the appeal – Jon Snow, Tom Hardy, Sandi Toksvig, Lauren Mayberry (lead singer of CHVRCHES) https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0B0F-klK1RvQxY0dPREdwbXdjQ1E?usp=sharing
Photos of malnourished children: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/h3lqt6bwe7x14lp/AACG3TyW6a5PI8injY1cX4QYa?dl=0
Notes to editors
- The DEC brings 13 leading UK aid charities together in times of crisis: ActionAid UK, Age International, British Red Cross, CAFOD, CARE International UK, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide, Islamic Relief Worldwide, Oxfam GB, Plan International UK, Save the Children UK, Tearfund and World Vision UK; all collectively raising money to reach those in need quickly. ActionAid UK, Plan International UK and World Vision UK are not responding in Yemen.
- To make a postal donation make cheques payable to ‘DEC’ and mail to ‘PO Box 999, London, EC3A 3AA’.
- To donate £5 by text send the word SUPPORT to 70000. The full £5 will go to the DEC Yemen Crisis Appeal. Donors must be 16 years or over and have bill payer’s permission. Texts are free and donations will be added to the bill.
