Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) has launched an urgent appeal as member charities on the ground provide much needed aid in the Middle East.
Millions of people across Gaza, Lebanon and the wider region are right now in urgent need of food, shelter and medical care. Conflict across the Middle East is devastating lives, and millions have fled their homes in search of safety.
In Gaza, the scale of humanitarian need is overwhelming. People are dying of hunger and disease, as well as injuries caused by the conflict. In Lebanon, more than a million people have fled their homes since mid- September, and emergency shelters are struggling to support all those in need.
Despite extraordinary challenges and risks, Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) member charities have demonstrated their ability to deliver life-saving and life-sustaining aid in Gaza, reaching a level that now warrants a national appeal.
With the conflict escalating in Lebanon, causing massive displacement in an already fragile country, a DEC appeal is now more urgent than ever. This appeal is crucial to secure the necessary funds to support conflict-affected communities in Gaza, Lebanon, and the surrounding region where families have been displaced.
SUMMARY OF THE HUMANITARIAN SITUATION
In Gaza
- The UN is reporting that up to 1.9 million people, or 90% of Gaza’s population, have been internally displaced, many of them multiple times over.
- 1 million people – almost the entire population – face acute food insecurity.
- As Winter approaches, 50% of health services are sited in areas at risk of flooding.
These repeated displacements have left the population in an increasingly vulnerable state, exacerbating the already critical humanitarian crisis. In addition to the almost total lack of access to safe shelter, nutritious food, healthcare, water and sanitation facilities for many communities, colder temperatures and increased rainfall have created another huge risk: severe flooding.
In addition to further damage to shelters and critical facilities, flooding also drastically raises the threat of water-borne and other infectious diseases.
In Lebanon
- Approximately 80% of the population live below the poverty line and 36% below the ‘extreme poverty line’.
- According to the Lebanese government, over 1 million people are believed to be displaced (almost 20% of the entire population)
- There are 3.9 million people in need of assistance within the country, including 2.1 million vulnerable Lebanese, 1.5 million Syrians, over 200,000 Palestinian refugees, and 81,500 migrants.
The escalation in the conflict is extending to previously unaffected areas, leaving families in desperate need of humanitarian assistance. Lebanon hosts the highest numbers of refugees per capita in the world and the economy there is close to collapse.
In this fragile situation, a crisis like this could push the country and its already struggling public services to breaking point, displacing millions of vulnerable people.
HOW DEC MEMBER CHARITIES ARE RESPONDING
Donations to the appeal are currently projected to be mainly spent in Gaza and Lebanon, where millions of people urgently need humanitarian support right now, but as the situation continues to evolve DEC members will respond where the needs are greatest across the region.
- Core relief Items: Distribution of core relief items such as mattresses, blankets, and baby kits.
- Shelter: Distribution of emergency and transitional shelter materials, tents and household items.
- Food: Provision of fresh ingredients (vegetables and fruits), food kits, and providing hot meals to displaced individuals.
- Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: Provision of hygiene supplies such as hygiene kits.
- Education: Distribution of education kits and enrolment of children in online learning.
NAVIGATING A CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENT
DEC member charities and their local partners have a long-standing presence in Gaza and Lebanon and extensive experience in providing life-saving assistance in highly volatile and insecure environments.
By working closely with local partners to identify risks early, leverage local knowledge, understand local dynamics, as well as coordinating with UN agencies and other stakeholders in the region, they have been able to deliver life-saving humanitarian aid over the past year in Gaza.
A key challenge has been fuel shortages, which affect transportation, logistics, and the operation of healthcare and WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) services. In response, member charities are continuously adapting to use all available routes to get goods into Gaza, whilst establishing more decentralised warehouses and expanding storage capacity to accommodate essential supplies.
Member charities are also focusing on activities that require minimal fuel, such as psychosocial support or cash distributions.
To guard against the risk of aid diversion, the DEC has required its members to undertake enhanced due diligence screening of local partners during the past year which provides additional assurance over and above the already robust policies and procedures in place.
PLEASE SUPPORT THIS URGENT APPEAL
The DEC brings together 15 leading UK aid charities to raise funds quickly and efficiently at times of humanitarian crisis overseas. In these times of crisis, people in life-and-death situations need our help and DEC’s mission is to save, protect and rebuild lives by working with the communities affected.
Pooling our resources to work as one, DEC is pivotal in co-ordinating the UK public’s response to overseas disasters. In collaboration with a Rapid Response Network of national media and corporate partners, DEC raises the alarm to the UK public and sets up easy ways to donate, with an immediate impact, getting aid to people who need it, fast.
DEC member charities have the access routes, expertise and local partners in place to significantly surge humanitarian assistance in the region. The DEC appeal is urgently needed to raise much needed flexible emergency funding. Please support this urgent appeal.
Website: https://dec.org.uk/middle-east-appeal
Appeal Hub: https://www.decpartnershub.org/middle-east-humanitarian-appeal