Disasters Emergency Committee

Last updated

The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) is an umbrella group [1] of UK charities [2] which coordinates and launches collective appeals to raise funds to provide emergency aid and rapid relief to people caught up in disasters and humanitarian crises around the world. Since being formed in 1963, the DEC has had strong relationships with major UK broadcasters in particular the BBC and ITV, who provide airtime to broadcast emergency appeals upon its recommendation. [3] It is a member of the global Emergency Appeals Alliance, which reports that since its first television appeal in 1966, the DEC has raised over £1.4 billion. [3]

Contents

The DEC is a registered charity (charity no: 1062638) [4] with 15 charity members all with associated disaster relief capabilities such as providing clean water, humanitarian aid and medical care.

The charity came to increased prominence during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine when people donated to the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.

Notable DEC appeals

The first DEC appeal was run for victims of an earthquake in Turkey in 1966. [5]

In 2004, the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) ran UK television appeals and telephone lines for donations following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, which raised a record £392m in public donations, [6]

Between January and July 2010, the DEC appealed for donations following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, raising a total of £107 million. [7]

On 22 January 2009, the BBC declined a request from the DEC to screen an appeal to raise money to aid relief efforts for victims of conflict in the Gaza Strip, as they felt supporting the appeal would effectively mean the BBC taking a political stance on the Gaza conflict. [8] This decision was the object of considerable controversy within the BBC [9] as it is the only time the BBC is known to have refused such a request from the DEC; the 2009 Gaza appeal in question was screened by Channel 4 and ITV and raised £8.3m. [10] Since then, the BBC has broadcast other DEC aid appeals for people in Gaza, without similar controversy. The DEC August 2014 Gaza appeal shown by the BBC helped to raise £16m over two years. [11]

On the launch of its appeal in October 2017 for Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar to Bangladesh, the UK Government pledged to double public donations up to £3 million. [12] Similarly, a pledge to match public donations up to £20 million was made by the UK Government in 2022 in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. [13]

In 2024, an attempted DEC appeal for humanitarian aid to address the Gaza humanitarian crisis during the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip was delayed by the BBC, reportedly due to fear of supporters of Israel. [14]

Notable fundraising events for the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal

In March 2022, Royal Ballet star Ivan Putrov directed Dance For Ukraine alongside Romanian ballet dancer Alina Cojocaru.[ citation needed ] The event took place at the London Coliseum on 19 March and raised £140,000 for DEC's Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. [15]

On 29 March 2022, Concert for Ukraine took place at Resorts World Arena in Birmingham and it aired on ITV. It was presented by Capital FM presenter Roman Kemp, Marvin Humes and Emma Bunton. ITV pledged people to donate to DEC's Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.[ citation needed ] Artists included Snow Patrol, Tom Odell, Ed Sheeran and Camilla Cabello and the show ran for two hours.[ citation needed ] More than £13.4 million was donated by midday the day after the concert.[ citation needed ]

Member charities of the Disasters Emergency Committee

As of November 2024, the committee's member organisations are: [16]

List of DEC appeals

Recent [17] and archive [18] DEC appeals.

DateLocationAppeal reasonAmount raised
August 1966Turkey Earthquake £560,000
June 1967Middle East War £160,000
February 1968Vietnam War £360,000
September 1968Iran Earthquake £210,000
November 1968Nigeria War £240,000
October 1969Algeria and TunisiaFloods£90,000
November 1969Yugoslavia Earthquake £60,000
March 1970Turkey Earthquake £370,000
June 1970Peru Earthquake £230,000
June 1970Romania Floods £110,000
November 1970East Pakistan (Bangladesh) Cyclone £1,490,000
June 1971India and Pakistan War £1,420,000
December 1972Nicaragua Earthquake £340,000
October 1973Ethiopia and the Sahel Drought £1,540,000
September 1974Honduras Hurricane £350,000
February 1976Guatemala Earthquake £1,300,000
September 1979Indo-China War £560,000
November 1979India Cyclone £870,000
June 1980East AfricaDrought£6,100,000
March 1982Central America War £430,000
July 1982Lebanon War £1,030,000
March 1983Ethiopia Famine £1,970,000
June 1984Africa Famine £9,520,000
October 1984Ethiopia Famine £5,250,000
May 1985Bangladesh Cyclone £1,400,000
June 1987Mozambique War/Drought £2,480,000
December 1987Ethiopia Famine £2,690,000
August 1988Sudan Floods £8,890,000
September 1988Bangladesh Floods £5,810,000
September 1988Caribbean Hurricane £1,000,000
December 1989Ethiopia Famine £10,240,000
September 1990Gulf War £3,490,000
January 1991Africa£7,930,000
May 1991Bangladesh Cyclone £3,520,000
June 1991Africa£2,600,000
September 1992Africa£17,300,000
October 1993Africa£2,530,000
February 1994Yugoslavia War £2,600,000
May 1994Rwanda War/Genocide £37,000,000
May 1998Sudan Famine £10,500,000
September 1998Bangladesh Floods £5,500,000
November 1998Central America Hurricane £18,500,000
April 1999Kosovo War £53,000,000
November 1999India Cyclone £7,000,000
March 2000Mozambique Floods £30,000,000
February 2001India Earthquake £24,000,000
January 2002DR Congo Volcano £4,650,000
July 2002Southern AfricaFamine£16,000,000
August 2003Liberia War £2,500,000
July 2004Sudan War £35,000,000
December 2004Asia Tsunami/Earthquake £392,000,000
August 2005Niger Famine £32,000,000
October 2005India and Pakistan Earthquake £59,000,000
May 2007Darfur and Chad War £13,600,000
November 2007Bangladesh Cyclone £9,000,000
May 2008Myanmar (Burma) Cyclone £19,500,000
November 2008DR CongoWar£10,500,000
January 2009Gaza War £8,300,000
October 2009Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam Typhoon/Earthquake/Typhoon £9,300,000
January 2010Haiti Earthquake £107,000,000
August 2010Pakistan Floods £71,000,000
July 2011East Africa Drought/Famine £79,000,000
March 2013Syria War £27,000,000
November 2013Philippines Typhoon £96,000,000
August 2014Gaza War £19,000,000
October 2014West Africa Epidemic (Ebola)£37,000,000
April 2015Nepal Earthquake £87,000,000
December 2016Yemen War/Famine£30,000,000
March 2017East Africa Drought/Famine £66,000,000
October 2017Bangladesh (Rohingya from Myanmar) Refugees/Genocide£30,000,000
October 2018Indonesia Tsunami/Earthquake/Landslide £29,000,000
March 2019Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe Cyclone £43,000,000
July 2020Afghanistan, Bangladesh, DR Congo, India, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen Pandemic (COVID-19)£62,000,000
December 2021AfghanistanCovid 19/Famine £50,000,000
March 2022Ukraine War £438,000,000 at 11 November 2024 – ongoing
September 2022Pakistan Floods £50,000,000
February 2023Turkey, Syria Earthquake £159,000,000
October 2024Gaza, Lebanon, West Bank War/Famine£25,000,000 at 11 November 2024 – ongoing

Related Research Articles

A telethon is a televised fundraising event that lasts many hours or even days, the purpose of which is to raise money for a charitable, political or other cause.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humanitarian response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake</span>

The humanitarian response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake of a magnitude of 9.1 was prompted by one of the worst natural disasters of modern times. On December 26, 2004, the earthquake, which struck off the northwest coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, generated a tsunami that wreaked havoc along much of the rim of the Indian Ocean. Particularly hard-hit were the countries of Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand. About 230,000 people were killed, tens of thousands more were injured, and 1.7 million became homeless and displaced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic Relief</span> International aid agency based in Birmingham, UK

Islamic Relief Worldwide describes itself as "a faith-inspired humanitarian and development agency which is working to support and empower the world's most vulnerable people".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International response to the 2005 Kashmir earthquake</span> Worldwide humanitarian response to the 2005 Kashmir earthquake in Pakistan, Afghanistan and India

The international response to the 2005 Kashmir earthquake was widespread and immediate, as many countries, international organizations and non-governmental organizations offered an abundance of relief aid to the affected regions − particularly Pakistan, which was hit the hardest due to the earthquake's epicentre being around Muzaffarabad, the capital city of Pakistani-administered Azad Jammu and Kashmir. The aid given was in the form of monetary donations and pledges, as well as relief supplies including food, various medical supplies, tents and blankets. Rescue and relief workers as well as peacekeeping troops were sent from different parts of the world to the region, bringing along rescue equipment, including helicopters and rescue dogs. The earthquake displaced some 3.3 million people, while killing around 80,000–100,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human Appeal</span> British development and relief charity

Human Appeal is a British international development and relief charity based in Manchester. It was established in 1991. It runs targeted poverty relief programmes in emergency response and sustainable development.

Muslim Aid is a UK faith based International Non-Governmental Organization. It acts as an international humanitarian charity with relief and development programmes in countries across Africa, Asia, and Europe. The charity works to support people suffering the effects of poverty, war, and natural disaster through both emergency relief and sustainable programmes designed to provide long-term support and independent futures to the most vulnerable communities around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund</span>

The Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund, better known by its acronym SCIAF, is the official aid and development agency of the Catholic Church in Scotland. Established in 1965, SCIAF now works in eight countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America and providing assistance to vulnerable people. SCIAF works with partner organisations and has responded to humanitarian disasters with emergency provisions and support. In Scotland, SCIAF raises awareness of the underlying causes of global poverty and injustice, work that includes visiting schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development</span> French humanitarian organization

Acted is a French international solidarity non-governmental organization (NGO), founded in 1993. It is headquartered in Paris. 

Big Give is a non-profit, charitable website that enables donors to find and support charity projects in their field of interest. It was founded in October 2007 by Sir Alec Reed CBE. His son James Reed became Chair of Trustees in 2019.

The 2008 Sichuan earthquake, magnitude 7.9. ML, occurred at 14:28:01.42 CST on 12 May 2008, with its epicenter in Wenchuan County, Sichuan province of the People's Republic of China. The disaster galvanized the CANGOs into soliciting numerous monetary donations and other forms of aid from across the globe, which has exceeded a collective total of US$456.9 million in cash contributions from sources outside the country. Inside mainland China, by 14 May, the Ministry of Civil Affairs stated that ¥ 10.7 billion had been donated by the Chinese public alone, including ¥ 4.185 billion yuan in the first week.

ShelterBox is an international disaster relief charity established in 2000 in Helston, Cornwall, UK, that provides emergency shelter and other aid items to families around the world who have lost their homes to disaster or conflict.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humanitarian response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake</span>

The response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake included national governments, charitable and for-profit organizations from around the world which began coordinating humanitarian aid designed to help the Haitian people. Some countries arranged to send relief and rescue workers and humanitarian supplies directly to the earthquake damage zones, while others sought to organize national fund raising to provide monetary support for the nonprofit groups working directly in Haiti. OCHA coordinates and tracks this on a daily basis. The information is disseminated through the UN news and information portal, ReliefWeb. As of September 5, 2013, ReliefWeb have reported a total relief funding of $3.5 billion given.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humanitarian response by non-governmental organizations to the 2010 Haiti earthquake</span>

The humanitarian responses by non-governmental organizations to the 2010 Haiti earthquake included many organisations, such as international, religious, and regionally based NGOs, which immediately pledged support in the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Besides a large multi-contingency contribution by national governments, NGOs contributed significantly to both on-the-ground rescue efforts and external solicitation of aid for the rescue efforts.

This article describes humanitarian responses from "for-profit" organizations, such as business corporations, following the January 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Humanitarian response to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami</span>

Following the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, Japan received messages of condolence and offers of assistance from a range of international leaders. According to Japan's foreign ministry, 163 countries and regions, and 43 international organizations had offered assistance to Japan as of September 15, 2011. The magnitude of the earthquake was estimated at 9.1. This article is a list of charitable and humanitarian responses to the disaster from governments and non-governmental organizations. As of March 2012, donations to areas affected by the disaster totalled ¥520 billion and 930,000 people have assisted in disaster recovery efforts.

Qatar Charity is a humanitarian and development non-governmental organization in the Middle East. It was founded in 1992 in response to the thousands of children who were made orphans by the Afghanistan war and while orphans still remain a priority cause in the organization's work with more than 150,000 sponsored orphans, it has now expanded its fields of action to include six humanitarian fields and seven development fields.

Mercy Relief is a Non-Governmental humanitarian organization based in Singapore. It was established in 2001 by Perdaus, a Malay-Muslim organization and became the first Muslim organisation in Singapore with a disaster humanitarian relief wing. The organization was officially launched on 12 May 2001 by Mr Abdullah Tarmugi, Minister For Community Development and Sports and Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs.

Qatar’s international aid program has expanded dramatically since the beginning of 2010, and focuses heavily on the Arab world, most notably in the humanitarian crises in Syria and Gaza.

Niaz Alam is a responsible investment consultant and journalist. He served as a director on the board of the London Pensions Fund Authority from 2001 to 2010 having been appointed as an adviser on Responsible Investment and Human Rights issues.

Concert for Ukraine was a two-hour benefit concert in the United Kingdom organised by ITV plc, Livewire Pictures, Global Radio and the Disasters Emergency Committee to raise funds for people affected by the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine through the DEC Appeal. The concert took place at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham on 29 March 2022, and featured a number of contemporary artists.

References

  1. ↑ "How we work". Disasters Emergency Committee. 30 January 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  2. ↑ "The Charity Commission – GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  3. 1 2 "Disasters Emergency Committee, UK – Emergency Appeals Alliance". Emergency Appeals Alliance. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  4. ↑ "Charity overview" . Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  5. ↑ "Appeals Archive". Disasters Emergency Committee. 26 November 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  6. ↑ Kweifio-Okai, Carla (25 December 2014). "Where did the Indian Ocean tsunami aid money go?". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  7. ↑ "Haiti Earthquake Appeal". Disasters Emergency Committee. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  8. ↑ "BBC Trust backs Thompson over Gaza appeal". The Independent. 19 February 2009. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  9. ↑ Holmwood, Leigh (26 January 2009). "BBC staff protest over decision not to show Gaza aid appeal". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  10. ↑ "Appeals Archive". Disasters Emergency Committee. 26 November 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  11. ↑ "Gaza Crisis Appeal". Disasters Emergency Committee. 8 August 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  12. ↑ "Disasters Emergency Committee appeal for people fleeing Burma reaches £3 million with UK aid support – GOV.UK". www.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  13. ↑ "Key facts" . Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  14. ↑ Sherwood, Harriet. "Aid agency insiders claim BBC 'blocking' Gaza humanitarian appeal". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 September 2024.
  15. ↑ Craine, Debra (22 March 2022). "Dance for Ukraine review — a fundraising gala of incredible skill and spirit". The Times . ISSN   0140-0460 . Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  16. ↑ "Member charities". Disasters Emergency Committee. 11 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  17. ↑ "Appeals". Disasters Emergency Committee. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
  18. ↑ "Appeals Archive". Disasters Emergency Committee. Retrieved 23 March 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.