Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) in Wales launches emergency appeal for people fleeing Myanmar

Leading Welsh aid agencies today [Wednesday 4 October] announced a joint fundraising appeal to help the hundreds of thousands of people fleeing their homes in Myanmar who are in urgent need of shelter, medical care, water and food.

In recent weeks, more than half a million people, mostly Rohingya women and children, have sought refuge in Bangladesh from violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

More than half of all new arrivals are children and one in every ten are pregnant or lactating mothers. The vast majority are living in makeshift shelters made from bamboo and thin plastic.

Chair of DEC Wales, Kirsty Davies-Warner, said: “People are arriving exhausted and traumatised into already overcrowded camps in Bangladesh. This is one of the fastest movements of people we have seen in recent decades.

“Families are living in makeshift shelters or by the side of the road with no clean drinking water, toilets or washing facilities. This humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in a country that is already reeling from the worst floods in decades.

“Without urgent support, the risk of disease and further misery is alarmingly high.”

Money raised in Wales will support the efforts of DEC member charities across the UK to reach people fleeing Myanmar as well as their host communities in Bangladesh.

DEC member charities are already on the ground in Bangladesh delivering emergency aid.  They are ready to scale-up their humanitarian support but they need more funding to reach people in urgent need.

The DEC Emergency Appeal is launching today (WEDNESDAY) and will be shown on all major UK broadcasters including BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, S4C and Sky.

To make a donation to the DEC Emergency Appeal visit www.dec.org.uk, call the 24-hour hotline on 0370 60 60 610, donate over the counter at any high street bank or post office, or send a cheque. You can also donate £5 by texting the word ASSIST to 70000.

The UK Government will match pound for pound the first £3 million donated by the public to the DEC Emergency Appeal.

Stay up to date with developments in Bangladesh, the emergency response and the fundraising efforts with the DEC on twitter: www.twitter.com/deccymru or on Facebook via www.facebook.com/DECCymru.