The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Turkey-Syria Earthquake Appeal has raised £151.8m in six months, it has revealed.
DEC’s appeal was launched on 9 February after earthquakes killed at least 58,000 people in southern Turkey and northern Syria.
The £151.8m total includes £5m of match funding through the government’s Aid Match scheme.
DEC said that the generosity of the UK public has made this appeal the third largest in its 60-year history and “enabled local responders to make a huge difference to hundreds of thousands of people who lost their homes, livelihoods and loved ones and help them slowly start to recover”.
‘DEC charities are working tirelessly’
DEC is currently composed of 15 member aid charities whose aim is to “raise funds quickly and efficiently at times of crisis overseas”. Of these, 14 are “either responding or planning to respond in Turkey and Syria and will receive funds from this appeal”.
DEC’s chief executive Saleh Saeed said: “DEC charities are working tirelessly to help people cope and make life more comfortable. From mobile physiotherapy clinics helping people recover from their injuries to psychological support for children, to providing hygiene and sanitation to avoid the spread of deadly diseases - this is vital, life-changing help.
“Your donations over the last six months have been remarkably generous and are helping DEC charities continue to address the people’s most pressing needs, on both sides of the border. It’s clear that it will be a very long road to recovery from this terrible disaster, but we met so many people in Türkiye who wanted us to thank the British public and all who have supported them through the DEC. Thank you to everyone who has donated, we are all incredibly grateful.”
The needs in Syria are ‘still huge’
Clynton Beukes, programmes director for DEC charity World Vision’s Syria response, said: “Moving on from the initial shock and awe of the earthquake, things have stabilised a little, but the needs here are still huge. People right now are in a situation that I don’t think any of us could ever imagine ourselves being in or wish on anyone.
“I was truly astounded by the generosity of the British public to the people of Syria and Turkey. It’s been humbling to see the amount that’s been raised, and we have been able to use that to meet the needs of people affected by the earthquake. I can tell you without doubt that your donations have meant more than just money to people in Syria. It has meant that they feel like they’ve been seen when they thought they had been forgotten.”
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