The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), has announced that its appeal for the East Africa Crisis, has so far raised the charity’s largest amount ever for a food crisis.
In the 100 days since the Appeal was launched it has raised £72m which is the third highest total. In 2004 £392m was raised for the Tsunami Earthquake Appeal and in 2010 £107m for the Haiti Earthquake Appeal.
However the DEC added that many affected in East Africa have not been reached by the aid effort.
Chief executive Brendan Gormley criticised world leaders, the UN and aid agencies for not responding to early warning systems and said: “All of us should examine the roles we have played and consider what we must do to ensure that the next time the alarm is raised our immediate response is not found wanting.”
One day last week the British Red Cross highlighted the issue of food insecurity in developing countries by increasing the prices of food in a campaign at Spitalfields market by between 500 and 800 per cent.
David Peppiatt, head of international at the charity said that although food insecurity is, “the biggest threat to the world’s health today” one third of people surveyed had not heard of it.
Charity War on Want also launched a campaign this week to support small food growers with a report titled Food Sovereignty: Reclaiming the Global Food System.
The report argues that the current UK government policy of food security through free trade is not working and that agrarian reforms to support local markets are needed.
UK charitable foundations increase international aid
Research carried out by Cass Business School for the Nuffield Foundation, the Baring Foundation and Paul Hamlyn Foundation, has found that in 2009/10 UK foundations gave £290m to international development.
Author of the study, Professor Cathy Pharoah said: “The research shows how UK foundations are playing an increasingly substantial and dynamic role in shaping civil society in developing countries.”
She added that it, “highlights the big questions facing independent foundations”, including how much aid should foundations give and how should they work with other organisations to deliver aid.
The study found that since the first Going Global report in 2007 there are more foundations providing funding to for international including the Children’s Investment Fund, the Waterloo Foundation and the Ashmore Foundation.
The full findings will be published in November.
