DEC Haiti Appeal total hits £25million

Press release 19 January 2010

Nearly a week after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, the DEC Haiti Earthquake Appeal total has increased to £25million counted so far as the public responds to desperate need of Haiti’s survivors.

Since yesterday, DEC member agencies work has included:

  • Christian Aid and its partners have set up tent hospitals and are providing medical equipment and supplies to the Haitian refugees injured by the earthquake at the Haitian border in Jimani. Hospitals in Jimaní are attending to hundreds of wounded and parishes and churches have also offered to attend to the wounded as "wings" of the hospital. Christian Aid is also buying food from local farmers to distribute.
  • Save the Children are establishing safe play areas. They are assessing water and sanitation needs and their response will include water tankering, latrine construction, bathing area construction, hygiene kit distribution and hygiene promotion.
  • The Red Cross are today distributing 700 tents and 6915 tarpaulins. A field hospital is operational in Port-au-Prince university hospital and 10 First aid posts have been set up. Two Red Cross mobile health clinics are also working in some of the worst affected areas outside the capital with capacity to help 30,000 people per day.
  • ActionAid are providing 2,000 people in Port au Prince with emergency food supplies, including flour and cooking oil. They are also distributing medicines and water purification tablets.

Disaster Emergency Committee Chief Executive Brendan Gormley said:

“Almost a week on from the earthquake that hit Haiti, we have been staggered by the generosity of the UK public. The total raised now stands at an amazing £25m. As the full scale of the tragedy continues to unfold we rely on the generosity of donors.”

“Over the last week DEC partner agencies have been working round the clock to meet the needs of the Haitian people.”

Our 13 member agencies in Haiti are closely monitoring the security situation but are not to date reporting that the isolated incidents seen so far are interfering with the arrival and distribution of aid.

Web and phone donations to the DEC Haiti Earthquake Appeal have now reached £25m. The massive response shows the UK public understand that member agencies need their support as they overcome communications and logistical problems to help people desperately needing assistance. The amount is mostly online and phone donations, with amounts from corporate, postal, events, SMS and over-the-counter donations coming through in the next few days.

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.

Notes to editors:

  • 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.
  • The DEC is very grateful for the technical advice and strategic communications support provided by BT to help us respond immediately to international disasters like the recent earthquake in Haiti. We also welcome the fact that BT are encouraging the public and their own customers to support the appeal.