Leading UK aid agencies will launch a joint fundraising appeal on Wednesday 15 December as a catastrophic rise in severe hunger sweeps Afghanistan, with eight million people at risk of starvation over the harsh winter months. Children are already dying, and a million more are at risk. 

DEC charities provided a lifeline to people in Afghanistan, after drought and economic collapse left millions hungry. This appeal is now closed and all funds have been spent.

Working with media and corporate partners is central to how the DEC runs appeals and maximises funds raised for people affected by disasters.

Hunger is rising in Yemen and Covid related deaths have escalated. The future looks very bad, with Covid, or without Covid, writes Mohammed Basha, Food Security and Livelihood Leader, Oxfam Yemen.

The threat of winter looms in Syria where people are already dying from conflict and Covid, says aid worker Shahinaz Muamar, from a local partner of a DEC charity.