Aid agencies launch joint appeal for Congo

(November 22, 2008) Leading UK aid agencies launched an appeal last night calling for urgently needed funds to help ease the increasingly desperate plight of people affected by the recent upsurge of violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Launching the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Congo (DR) Crisis Appeal, chief executive Brendan Gormley said while aid was getting through to those affected, a massive scale-up was required. More than 250,000 people have been forced to flee their homes to escape the fighting in recent weeks, adding to more than one million already displaced as result of the conflict. Agencies that make up the DEC are already delivering life-saving food, water, shelter and emergency medical supplies to those affected, but the scale of the crisis means much more is needed. "The start of the rainy season has meant people living in already desperate conditions are becoming ever more vulnerable," said Gormley. "Our member agencies are already reaching several hundred thousand people, but the need is overwhelming and increasing. We have got to do more and now, more than ever, we need the UK public to show their generosity."The 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.