UNICEF UK’s response to emergencies in 2005
The year 2005 began with an unprecedented emergency response fully under way, as generous donations poured in from people wanting to help those affected by the devastating tsunami. This emergency was unprecedented both in terms of its size and in the scale of response – public attention meant that the appeal was fully-funded within weeks and programme work can continue for years.
Many crises do not receive the same media attention and silent emergencies can go unheeded. The Niger food crisis was raging for months before gaining media attention. Cyclical food shortages compounded by drought and a locust infestation led to thousands of children facing food insecurity and malnutrition.
UNICEF UK was able to send £50,000 in July and another £50,000 in August thanks to donations to our General Emergency Fund. UNICEF has been supporting therapeutic and supplementary feeding programmes and has helped reach over 300,000 children here. The appeal has since raised £2.4 million in the UK alone and UNICEF’s emergency work in Niger is currently fully funded. The situation in Niger remains of concern however and UNICEF’s appeal may increase in the future as we respond to the needs of women and children.
Through the General Emergency Fund UNICEF UK was also able to respond to the food crisis in Malawi as early as July, sending a total of £290,000 to the field. The food crisis caused by drought and compounded by high HIV rates has led to almost 50,000 children under the age of 5 suffering from severe malnutrition. These rates are expected to increase drastically over the coming months. The appeal is for £7.6 million.
An ongoing ‘silent emergency’ is occurring in Darfur, western Sudan. Over 3.4 million people have been affected by conflict – many have lost their homes and are living in huge camps for displaced people. UNICEF is working to reach people with clean water, to install adequate sanitation facilities to stop the spread of disease, to provide immunisation and therapeutic feeding and to get children back into education to give them a chance for their future. UNICEF is appealing for £80 million.
On 8 October an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale hit the Pakistan/India border. Almost 2 million children have been severely affected and are at particular risk facing a combination of cold, malnutrition and disease. Thanks to the UK public, UNICEF UK has been able to send £1.8 million to the field. UNICEF’s appeal for £54.4 million is 64 per cent funded. We still need £19 million to continue reaching children with warm clothes, health interventions, clean water and education.
We thank you for your support.
Find out more about UNICEF UK’s work in emergencies.
The Asian Tsunami
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