London,
21
December
2016
|
13:54
Europe/London

City of London Corporation donates a further £45,000 to international disaster relief appeals giving life-saving aid to millions

The City of London Corporation has donated £45,000 to two international disaster relief funds for emergency appeals in Nigeria and Yemen.

The donations include £20,000 to the Save the Children’s North East Nigeria Famine Relief Appeal and £25,000 to the Disaster Emergency Committee’s (DEC) Yemen Humanitarian Crisis Appeal.

Both donations come from the Corporation’s Disaster Relief Fund, bringing its donations total for 2016 to £125,000.

Save The Children has launched an urgent appeal in relation to the food crisis in the North-East of Nigeria. The area has been heavily afflicted by militant rebellion group Boko Haram for the last seven years and fighting has intensified in the past few months. It is predicated that, unless there is an urgent response to the crisis, 400,000 children are at imminent risk of starvation.

The appeal will provide severely malnourished children with expert treatment at specialist health centres, help children get clean water and improved sanitation by building latrines and conducting hygiene awareness sessions - especially for families who have been forced from their homes by the conflict . It will also offer emotional support to 20,000 children at kids’ clubs to help them come to terms with their traumatic experiences from the conflict.

The DEC has launched an urgent appeal in relation to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, with new reports of children starving, millions of people too poor to buy essential food or medicine, hospitals and schools across the country being unable to operate and a high risk of disease due to unclean water and poor sanitation.

The UN has estimated that the total number of people in need of Humanitarian assistance in Yemen is 18.8million (69% of the population). The most critical needs are food and nutrition, health and protection of civilians. An estimated 3.3 million children and pregnant women are acutely malnourished. Of these children 462,000 under-fives are suffering from severe acute malnutrition. Due to the conflict, 2.2 million have been displaced across Yemen- nearly double what was estimated in February this year.

Jeremy Mayhew, Chairman of City of London Corporation’s Finance Committee, said:

“Both these emergency appeals are seeking to help people in desperate situations and need all the funds and help they can get to assist as many people as possible. These appeals are helping children who have suffered traumatic and life changing experiences and many desperately need the most basic life essentials- food and clean water.

“We have now made four donations this year to organisations and appeals helping vulnerable people and those affected by major disasters. This includes UK Community Foundations to help child refugees and asylum seekers and the British Red Cross for the Haiti Hurricane Matthew Appeal.”

The City of London Corporation gives millions of pounds to charities each year in a bid to tackle disadvantage and create a more fair, inclusive and sustainable society.

The Corporation’s charitable funder City Bridge Trust is London’s biggest independent grant giver making grants of £20 million a year to combat deprivation and inequalities.

ENDS

Media enquires:

Kristina Drake| Media Officer, Public Services

City of London Corporation

http://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/newsroom

Kristina.Drake@cityoflondon.gov.uk

M: 07710860884

D: 020 7332 1125