International Development Secretary backs Democratic Republic of Congo appeal

21 November

Secretary of State for Development Douglas AlexanderSpeaking in support of the Disasters Emergency Committee's crisis appeal for the Democratic Republic of Congo, International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said: “I wholeheartedly welcome this appeal by the Disasters Emergency Committee.

“It will help those hardest hit by the violence affecting millions of people in the country.

“The UK is already one of the largest donors of humanitarian aid to the Democratic Republic of Congo – we are providing £42 million in humanitarian assistance this year alone.

“This is part of our long-term development plan for the country, where we have provided specialist skills, support and humanitarian aid as part of our ongoing commitment.

“We help over seven million Congolese every year, and our staff are constantly monitoring the situation and working alongside agencies on the ground to see how we can best help.

“The situation on the ground remains very serious, and there are many people in desperate need of help.

“At the end of October I announced an additional £5 million to the £37 million the UK had already given to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“This helped fund six flights to the city of Goma, carrying 90 tonnes of UK aid including plastic sheeting, blankets, buckets and water purification tablets.

“Other UK aid has been used to help people in North Kivu, in the east of the country, have been spent on water, sanitation and emergency food relief.

“The £2 million spent directly on food aid by the UK Government via the World Food Programme was enough to feed 500,000 people for two weeks.”

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Further information

  •  The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) consists of: Action Aid, British Red Cross, CAFOD, CARE International UK, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide, Help the Aged, Islamic Relief, Merlin, Oxfam, Save the Children, Tearfund, World Vision.
  • To donate, visit external linkwww.dec.org.uk or call DEC on 0370 60 60 900.

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