The Disasters Emergency Committee has been partnering with the BBC to launch appeals for the past 50 years. Many people may remember the appeal after the Boxing Day Tsunami in 2004 or the most recent appeal for the people of Nepal after the earthquake in 2015.
There are 13 DEC member agencies: Action Aid, Age International, British Red Cross, Cafod, Care, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide, Islamic Relief, Oxfam, Plan International, Save the Children, Tearfund, World Vision.
The DEC request an appeal from the UK’s broadcasters when faced with an emergency, to which they are confident their members can respond. Before agreeing to broadcast appeals we take into consideration various factors – scale and urgency of disaster; ability to get humanitarian assistance to those in need; and public awareness – in this instance we believe they have been met.
Yemen is already one of the poorest countries in the world and a number of the DEC charities have been working there for many years. Twenty months of war have brought Yemen to breaking point. Millions of people do not know where their next meal will come from. A worsening cholera outbreak in some regions must be contained before it spreads. Hospitals have been destroyed and there is a chronic shortage of medical essentials. The DEC member agencies who work on both sides of the conflict are warning that if we don’t act now, this crisis will reach “catastrophic proportions” and many more children may die of malnutrition.
DEC Chief Executive, Saleh Saeed said:
“Now is the time to save lives in Yemen before it is too late. Children face the greatest risk of starvation – almost half a million infants and young children need immediate treatment for malnutrition. DEC agencies are already providing treatment for malnutrition, running mobile health teams, distributing emergency food and cash but they need more funds to reach more people.”
On launch day, the BBC makes a television and radio appeal with supporting social media content that goes out on all its platforms from BBC Alba our Gaelic service to BBC Three online to BBC One. The appeal will run on all our network, regional and local radio stations, websites and social media platforms.
Audiences to these emergency appeals have been extremely generous, the BBC and the DEC are hopeful that once again the British public will support this emergency appeal.
Sally Flatman is BBC Charity Appeals Advisor.
- To find out more about how to donate to the Yemen Crisis Appeal, visit the DEC website.
