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. They are relying wherever possible on essential goods from local markets, and cash assistance is providing a crucial lifeline to many as market prices spiral. Trained medical staff are providing vital care, even with medicine supplies running critically low.

Addressing the desperate shortages of food is an urgent priority. The whole population is facing extreme levels of food insecurity. Although in no way sufficient to provide food to all those who need it, some farmers within Gaza are still able to harvest fruit and vegetables, enabling a number of DEC charities and their local partners to distribute locally produced food items.

Examples of how DEC charities and their local partners have supported people in Gaza over the past month include:

• Age International has been working with their local partner PARC to support a number of ‘Tekkyas’ - local community kitchens - with food and fuel. 
   
• ActionAid's local partner in Gaza, Wefaq Society for Women and Child Care, have been able to deliver fresh vegetables in food packages.
   
• 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.
   
• Save the Children have been providing emergency nutrition support to pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers and their children. 

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.