DEC Asia Quake Appeal Passes £25 Million Mark
26 October 2005
More than £25 million has now been pledged to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s (DEC) Asia Quake Appeal. Brendan Gormley, Chief Executive of the DEC says, ‘Once again people across the UK are leading the way in their generosity online, by the emergency phone lines and through the post. We need them to continue as more money is desperately needed.’
As the world’s governments and agencies meet today in Geneva at the UN’s Ministerial meeting on Humanitarian Assistance for earthquake affected countries in South Asia, the DEC urges them to fully finance the huge aid effort that is needed.
Officials now put the death toll in the Quake hit region at more than 50,000 and with temperatures set to drop further as snow sets in over the coming weeks, the need for shelter and medical supplies is increasingly desperate.
According to the UN, three million people are homeless. Despite more than 300,000 tents already gone or on their way, the UN estimates that 1.5 million people will still be facing a winter without shelter. Care International’s Communications Manager Madhuri Dass says, ‘We need winterised tents, warm clothes and blankets because of the changing weather. But the greatest need is tents, tents and more tents.’
The 13 DEC member agencies are Action Aid, British Red Cross, CAFOD, CARE International UK, Christian Aid, Concern, Help the Aged, Islamic Relief, Merlin, Oxfam, Save the Children, Tearfund and World Vision.
ENDS
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