UK Aid Matches for Middle East Humanitarian Appeal

EDINBURGH, United Kingdom — The Disaster Emergency Committee (DEC) announced that it had raised more than $14 million as part of its Middle East Humanitarian Appeal, comprising donations from the public and the DEC’s corporate partners. The appeal is to respond to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank. In a press release on October 19, the DEC celebrated the “generous donations” but warned of extreme food shortages in Gaza. Madara Hettiarachchi, the Director of Programs and Accountability at the DEC, stated that “the risk of famine is real,” with almost two million people in Gaza facing food shortages and hunger.

What is the DEC?

The DEC comprises 15 member charities that provide U.K. aid. In times of international crisis, the organization pools its resources together to respond quickly and efficiently. It reports that since it began in 1963, the DEC has launched 77 appeals for major disasters overseas and raised more than $2.2 billion. Its current appeal for the Middle East focuses on providing emergency food, warmth and shelter to victims of the conflict.

UK Aid Match

This news follows a commitment from the U.K. government to match public donations to the Middle East Humanitarian Appeal to about $12 million. The Foreign Secretary David Lammy announced this in a statement addressing the humanitarian situation in Northern Gaza, which he described as “dire, with access to basic services worsening and the U.N. reporting that barely any food has entered in the last two weeks.”

Appeals under the U.K. aid match scheme allow the British public to engage with international development issues and have a say in how U.K. aid is spent. It also provides extra funding to nonprofits working to help those in poverty or those caught up in natural or humanitarian disasters.

UK Foreign Policy on the Middle East

The U.K.’s stance on the war in the Middle East reflects the growing international concern for the humanitarian emergency in Gaza and, more recently, Lebanon. Since July 2024, the U.K. government has provided funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) after temporarily halting donations six months prior due to alleged links between Hamas and UNRWA. The U.K. government maintains that these decisions do not change its steadfast support for Israel’s security and its right to self-defense.

Recent Developments in the Middle East

Latest updates confirm an increasingly dire situation in northern Gaza. Indeed, the U.N. Secretary-General has called an end to the war, a quick release of hostages and unrestricted access for aid agencies. The World Health Organization (WHO) will also complete its second round of emergency polio vaccinations in Gaza, aiming to deliver protection to more than half a million children in the area.

The success of the Middle East Humanitarian Appeal comes at a crucial point in the war, when continued fighting in the north and overcrowding in the south of Gaza is creating a dangerous situation that “continues to inflict horrors” on civilians.

– Hannah Dunford

Hannah is based in Edinburgh, Scotland and focuses on Global Health and Politics for The Borgen Project.

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