, Cabinet Secretary for Social
Justice, Trefnydd and Chief Whip: For over a year, conflict in
the Middle East has devastated lives across the region, and
millions have fled their homes in search of safety. Right now,
millions of people across Gaza, Lebanon and the wider region are
in urgent need of food, shelter and medical care.
The Welsh Government funds the Disasters Emergency Committee DEC
Cymru to help coordinate fundraising efforts in Wales. The DEC
brings together leading organisations in the UK to raise funds
for overseas emergencies, coordinating an effective humanitarian
response, getting aid quickly to people who need it in the most
cost-effective manner possible. In October, DEC launched their
Middle East Humanitarian Appeal, to which the Welsh Government
donated £100,000.
DEC charities are hopeful that the ceasefire in Gaza – which
began on 19 January – will provide them and their local partners
with a critical opportunity to scale up their work delivering
urgently needed food, shelter, water and medical care. In
Gaza, 1.8 million people are facing acute shortages of food, with
soaring prices at local markets as supplies have become
increasingly scarce. Cold weather and rain in recent weeks have
further worsened conditions in camps, with tents flooding and
cold temperatures causing sickness amid a dire shortage of
medical care and widespread malnutrition.
New aid access routes and the opportunity to use existing routes
more widely because of the ceasefire will allow DEC charities and
their local partners to increase the amount of food and other
urgent aid they can deliver into Gaza, reaching more families in
need.
For this reason, the Welsh Government will be providing a further
£100,000 donation to the DEC Middle East Humanitarian Appeal.
