DEC Haiti Appeal tops £50m

Press release 26 January 2010

Donations to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) have topped £50m exactly two weeks since the devastating earthquake hit Haiti. This represents an average donation of over four million pounds each day since the DEC Haiti Earthquake Appeal was launched.

According to a recent survey of over 1,000 adults carried out for the Charities Aid Foundation, almost half the UK population (48%) have already donated to the Haiti disaster appeal. Of those who haven’t given yet, nearly two thirds (62%) say they might, or plan to in the future.

Brendan Gormley, Chief Executive of the Disasters Emergency Committee commented:

“This is a fantastic show of support by the UK public and their substantial response to the appeal has shown a widespread compassion and willingness to help the millions of Haitians affected by this terrible tragedy.

The UK public’s generosity has enabled our member agencies to work tirelessly during the last fortnight to deliver emergency supplies in the form of food, water and medical care. But whilst we are hugely grateful for this outstanding support, the situation remains critical in Haiti and we are still working flat out to reach many more survivors with aid. This is no time to sit back and congratulate ourselves. The earthquake has affected millions of people and entire lives need to be rebuilt from the ruins. So I would urge people to continue donating, as this aid effort will continue for many years.”

Donations have mainly been made over the phone and online, but also include corporate, postal, events, SMS and over-the-counter donations. The influence of social networking and new technology has also greatly contributed to the success of the appeal.

The security situation in Haiti is becoming more challenging, and co-ordination and logistical problems remain very serious. However, in the last 24 hours the work of our member agencies has included:

Red Cross

  • More than 2.5 million litres of water have been distributed by the Red Cross Red Crescent
  • 13,000 people (more than 2,000 households) received tarpaulins, tents, blankets, hygiene kits, kitchen sets and jerry cans
  • Emergency health kits for 30,000 people have been distributed across the capital.
  • 10 shipping containers with relief items for approximately 5,000 families has been unloaded in port Haïna (Dominican Republic) and will be transported over land to Haiti.

Oxfam

  • Five sites with water bladders, serving 65,000 people are up and running with extra water trucks arriving daily
  • Latrines and washing areas have been completed at two sites serving 55,000 people, including one latrine designed for use by the handicapped. Work continues at three additional sites, which will serve 20,000 extra people.

World Vision

  • Yesterday, World Vision distributed more than 14 metric tons of food to 2,500 people. The 15-day ration food kits included soy-fortified bulgur, corn-soy blend, vegetable oil and lentils
  • A mobile clinic has been set up with the capacity to help about 100 people a day
  • Over the next two weeks, World Vision is aiming to reach more than 72,000 people with food and non-food items in 32 camps within Port-au-Prince.

To make a donation to the DEC Haiti Earthquake Appeal visit www.dec.org.uk or call 0370 60 60 900, donate over the counter at any post office or high street bank, or send a cheque made payable to ‘DEC Haiti Earthquake Appeal’ to ‘PO Box 999, London, EC3A 3AA’.

Anyone wanting to stay up to date with developments in Haiti, the emergency response and the fundraising efforts can follow the DEC on twitter at http://twitter.com/decappeal or become a fan of ‘Disasters-Emergency-Committee-DEC’ on Facebook.

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Notes to editors:

  • The research for the survey on behalf of the Charities Aid Foundation was carried our by GFK NOP over the weekend of 23rd – 24th January. The figures also showed that of those who have donated, 55% were women and 45% were men
  • To make a postal donation make cheques payable to ‘DEC Haiti Earthquake Appeal’ and mail to ‘PO Box 999, London, EC3A 3AA
  • Donations can be made at any high street bank, or at a Post Office by quoting Freepay 1449.
  • Text “GIVE” to 70077 to give £5 to the DEC Haiti Earthquake Appeal. £5 goes to the DEC. You pay £5 plus the standard network SMS rate.
  • The DEC consists of: Action Aid, British Red Cross, CAFOD, CARE International UK, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide, Help the Aged, Islamic Relief, Merlin, Oxfam, Save the Children, Tearfund, World Vision.
  • The DEC criteria to launch an appeal are: The disaster must be on such a scale and of such urgency as to call for swift International humanitarian assistance. The DEC agencies, or some of them, must be in a position to provide effective and swift humanitarian assistance at a scale to justify a national Appeal. There must be reasonable grounds for concluding that a public appeal would be successful, either because of evidence of existing public sympathy for the humanitarian situation or because there is a compelling case indicating the likelihood of significant public support should an appeal be launched.