The International Development Committee (IDC) of the Isle of Man Government has pledged a total of £150,000 to five UK humanitarian charities in response to six emergency appeals.
The funds will be divided equally between the following charities and their projects:
UNICEF UK - Drought relief in Namibia - Awarded: £25,000
Namibia is currently experiencing a prolonged drought and food shortages which are affecting more than 778,000 people across the country. UNICEF will enable access to clean water, improve hygiene practices and provide food and nutritional supplements in response to the malnutrition crisis.
Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART) - Emergency Food Aid for Border Areas of Sudan - Awarded: £25,000
In the past two years, an estimated 500,000 people have been displaced in the Blue Nile and South Kordofan States as a consequence of sustained aerial bombardment by the Government of Sudan. HART will operate in these remote regions providing funds for emergency food aid to alleviate suffering of vulnerable adults and children; and seed provision for subsistence farming.
ActionAid UK - The Syrian Refugee Crisis in Lebanon - Awarded: £25,000
World leaders are calling the Syrian crisis a "humanitarian calamity with suffering and displacement unparalleled in recent history." Lebanon has received the largest group of Syrian refugees in the region and with no camps established to accommodate the refugees, the country is struggling to cope. ActionAid will provide emergency relief and support to help the refugees survive in their new environment by facilitating emergency food distribution and providing cash for work and training programmes.
Plan UK - Emergency response to flooding in Pakistan - Awarded: £25,000
In addition to 200 deaths and 1,100 injuries, the recent widespread flooding in Pakistan has also resulted in the destruction of housing and inundation of over a million acres of agricultural land. Plan UK will provide emergency relief and support by providing temporary shelter, restoring food security and re-establishing clean water, sanitation and hygiene to those most affected by the flooding.
Oxfam - Syrian Refugee Crisis in Jordan - Awarded: £25,000
Jordan is currently host to more than half a million Syrian refugees, many of who left Syria with few resources including winter clothing and heating equipment. With winter temperatures often dropping below freezing, Oxfam will support the vulnerable to prepare for winter by distributing winter kits, improving drainage and ensuring key infrastructure such as water tanks can deal with high winds.
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Refugee Crisis in Uganda - Awarded: £25,000
An upsurge in fighting in July 2013 has caused mass displacement and forced around 66,000 people to flee across the border from DRC to Uganda. Many are in need of basic supplies and services and Oxfam aims to ensure these refugees will be better placed to achieve minimum standards in protection and public health by providing access to essentials such as safe drinking water, sanitation facilities and hygiene kits.
Member of the International Development Committee, Phil Braidwood MLC, said:
"The emergency aid donated by the International Development Committee will help these charities respond swiftly and effectively to alleviate the suffering of people who are in great need. The situation in Syria continues to reverberate across the region which is why the Committee agreed to fund two projects targeting the refugee crisis. But we must not forget other, less well publicised, but no less devastating events happening across the globe."
