Gaza update: Can DEC charities still provide aid?
The extraordinary challenges around aid delivery in Gaza are having a devastating impact on the work of DEC member charities and their local partners.The catastrophic humanitarian crisis is deteriorating rapidly. The whole of Gaza is at risk of famine. Aid supplies are running dangerously low, making it impossible to respond to the growing levels of need.
Like everyone in Gaza right now, staff and their families are dealing with unimaginably harsh conditions and facing significant risks as they carry out their life-saving work. Increased and safe access for humanitarian aid is urgently needed to allow DEC charities and their local partners to reach more of those in need.
Right now, even in these dire circumstances, they are still finding ways to provide support. Each day brings new and unexpected challenges, and they are constantly adapting their operations to deliver whatever aid they can - as they have done throughout the crisis.
With extremely limited supplies entering Gaza, DEC charities and their local partners are working tirelessly to meet some basic needs in the ways they are still able to. Cash assistance is providing a lifeline to many as local market prices spiral, enabling families to buy some food and essential items when they become available. Trained medical staff are providing vital care in field hospitals and clinics, even with medicine supplies running critically low.
With access to clean water for drinking and washing also incredibly scarce, DEC charities and their local partners are working hard to continue water trucking, despite the increasing challenges moving around Gaza. In some areas water trucks remain the only source of clean water.
Addressing severe shortages of food is an urgent concern. Although a few DEC charities and their local partners are still distributing some hot meals and emergency support, without supplies entering Gaza, many are now unable to provide the food that so many had been relying on.
Staff and volunteers from the Palestine Red Crescent Society and British Red Cross have been helping the many sick and injured at the ICRC field hospital in Rafah, supported with DEC funds. Image: ICRC/British Red Cross
Examples of how DEC charities and their local partners have supported people in Gaza over the past month include:
- ActionAid is working with its local partner organisation to deliver hot meals through community kitchens.
- Concern Worldwide have been delivering clean water to displaced families through water trucks.
- The British Red Cross is supporting its local partner, the Palestine Red Crescent Society, to provide medical care to some of the many sick and injured.
Find out more about how DEC charities are providing aid as the crisis evolves here.
Donations to the DEC Middle East Humanitarian Appeal are making a difference even in these extraordinarily desperate circumstances. More funds can help to ensure DEC charities and their local partners are ready to scale up their response when an opportunity arises.