There will a special briefing for the Scottish Parliament’s Cross Party Group on International Development at 2pm on Monday 1st March by the Disasters Emergency Committee to update on its global Coronavirus Appeal.
The DEC will also be sharing a new report highlighting the deepening crisis faced by the world’s most fragile states, including those already being helped through the ongoing Coronavirus Appeal launched last July. The aim of the event is to re-engage public support for the DEC appeal and help provide the urgent assistance still required by millions of people facing the pandemic far from home and without adequate food or shelter.
Despite nearly £35 million being raised across the UK through the DEC Appeal so far – more than £3million here in Scotland – these countries are edging closer to catastrophe as Covid-19 is adding to huge existing burdens of conflict, violence and other disasters.
The report will reveal what the year ahead holds for the world’s most fragile states – Yemen and Syria in the Middle East; Somalia, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in Africa; Afghanistan in Asia – and the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh. It will detail the acute impact of the virus so far and the huge knock on effects of widespread lockdowns on health services and other basic humanitarian needs such as food and clean water.
The Chief Executive of the DEC, Saleh Saeed OBE, will give an overview of the report and answer questions and there will also be one or more of our member charity teams who are in country at the moment coordinating the delivery of humanitarian aid. The event will be held on Zoom so please register for the event now via the link below.
If you have any questions or suggestions for the event, please contact Huw Owen, External Relations Manager of the DEC in Scotland – howen@dec.org.uk