£250,000 boost for Scottish fundraising appeal to help people in Middle East facing 'intolerable suffering'

AFP via Getty Images

A fundraising appeal launched in Scotland to help people experiencing “intolerable suffering” in the Middle East is to receive a £250,000 boost from the Scottish Government. The government said it would allocate the funds to a Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Appeal launched today, where DEC and Scotland-based charities the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF) and Mercy Corps will use the funding to support humanitarian activities as the situation in the region continues to deteriorate.

Aid workers say millions of people who have fled their homes in search of safety across Gaza, Lebanon and the wider region are in urgent need of food, water, shelter and medical care.

AFP via Getty Images

DEC member charities say the scale of need in Gaza is currently “overwhelming”, with people already dying of hunger and disease and supplies of food and clean water said to be “desperately scarce”.

In Lebanon, it is believed more than a million people have had to leave their homes in recent weeks, with shelters overwhelmed and hospitals struggling to treat the thousands of injured.

Water, sanitation and hygiene infrastructure has also been damaged in the West Bank by the ongoing violence and more families have been forced to leave their homes.

In Israel, tens of thousands more people have been displaced with many also dealing with trauma caused by the ongoing conflict.

A fund of £200,000 will be shared between DEC’s 15 member organisations helping to provide food, water, medical assistance and shelter to displaced people in the region. Meanwhile, SCIAF and Mercy Corps will each receive £25,000 to support aid activities.

Rob Murray, of the British Red Cross, said: “Over the past year, conflict in the Middle East has devastated lives across the region, and millions have fled their homes in search of safety.

“In Gaza famine is looming, clean water is scarce, and the healthcare system has all but collapsed. The situation in Lebanon is deteriorating and humanitarian needs are increasing at an alarming rate.

“DEC member charities are responding right now, providing lifesaving food, water, shelter, medicine and so much more. We’re asking people across Scotland to donate, no matter the amount, to this appeal to help provide essential humanitarian aid.”

The UK Government is supporting the DEC’s Middle East Humanitarian Appeal by matching the first £10 million of donations from the British public.

First Minister John Swinney said: “Thousands of innocent people have been killed in the crisis in the Middle East, with millions more displaced and left without certainty about how to access to shelter, food, clean water and medical care.

“The humanitarian crisis in the Middle East continues to deepen and spread, and an immediate ceasefire and de-escalation of conflict is needed to prevent more innocent lives being lost and bring an end to the unimaginable suffering this conflict has caused.”

He added: “Urgent humanitarian aid must be provided to all those who need it, and this contribution from the Scottish Government will assist the Disasters Emergency Committee, SCIAF and Mercy Corps in ensuring it reaches as many people as possible. Members of the public can also pledge support and make donations to the DEC Appeal in a variety of ways and I would urge everyone to consider donating if they are in a position to do so.”