Disasters Emergency Committee
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This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (April 2026) |
The Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) is an umbrella group[1] of UK charities[2] which coordinates and launches collective appeals to raise funds to provide emergency aid and rapid relief to people caught up in disasters and humanitarian crises around the world. Since being formed in 1963, the DEC has had strong relationships with major UK broadcasters in particular the BBC and ITV, who provide airtime to broadcast emergency appeals upon its recommendation.[3] It is a member of the global Emergency Appeals Alliance, which reports that since its first television appeal in 1966, the DEC has raised over £1.4 billion.[3]
The DEC is a registered charity (charity no: 1062638)[2] with 15 charity members all with associated disaster relief capabilities such as providing clean water, humanitarian aid and medical care.
The charity came to increased prominence during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine when people donated to the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.
Notable DEC appeals
The first DEC appeal was run for victims of an earthquake in Turkey in 1966.[4]
In 2004, the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) ran UK television appeals and telephone lines for donations following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, which raised a record £392m in public donations,[5]
Between January and July 2010, the DEC appealed for donations following the 2010 Haiti earthquake, raising a total of £107 million.[6]
On 22 January 2009, the BBC declined a request from the DEC to screen an appeal to raise money to aid relief efforts for victims of conflict in the Gaza Strip, as they felt supporting the appeal would effectively mean the BBC taking a political stance on the Gaza conflict.[7] This decision was the object of considerable controversy within the BBC[8] as it is the only time the BBC is known to have refused such a request from the DEC; the 2009 Gaza appeal in question was screened by Channel 4 and ITV and raised £8.3m.[4] Since then, the BBC has broadcast other DEC aid appeals for people in Gaza, without similar controversy. The DEC August 2014 Gaza appeal shown by the BBC helped to raise £19m over two years.[9]
On the launch of its appeal in October 2017 for Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar to Bangladesh, the UK Government pledged to double public donations up to £3 million.[10] Similarly, a pledge to match public donations up to £20 million was made by the UK Government in 2022 in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[11]
In 2024, an attempted DEC appeal for humanitarian aid to address the Gaza humanitarian crisis during the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip was delayed by the BBC, with some reporting this was due to fears a backlash from supporters of Israel in its war with Hamas.[12]
Notable fundraising events for the Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal
In March 2022, Royal Ballet star Ivan Putrov directed Dance For Ukraine alongside Romanian ballet dancer Alina Cojocaru.[citation needed] The event took place at the London Coliseum on 19 March and raised £140,000 for DEC's Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.[13]
On 29 March 2022, Concert for Ukraine took place at Resorts World Arena in Birmingham and it aired on ITV. It was presented by Capital FM presenter Roman Kemp, Marvin Humes and Emma Bunton. ITV pledged people to donate to DEC's Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal.[citation needed] Artists included Snow Patrol, Tom Odell, Ed Sheeran and Camila Cabello and the show ran for two hours.[citation needed] More than £13.4 million was donated by midday the day after the concert.[citation needed]
Member charities of the Disasters Emergency Committee
As of April 2026[update], the committee's member organisations are:[14]
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List of DEC appeals
Recent DEC appeals.[4]
| Date | Location | Appeal reason | Amount raised |
|---|---|---|---|
| Template:Dts | Turkey | Earthquake | £560,000 |
| Template:Dts | Middle East | War | £160,000 |
| Template:Dts | Vietnam | War | £360,000 |
| Template:Dts | Iran | Earthquake | £210,000 |
| Template:Dts | Nigeria | War | £240,000 |
| Template:Dts | Algeria and Tunisia | Floods | £90,000 |
| Template:Dts | Yugoslavia | Earthquake | £60,000 |
| Template:Dts | Turkey | Earthquake | £370,000 |
| Template:Dts | Peru | Earthquake | £230,000 |
| Template:Dts | Romania | Floods | £110,000 |
| Template:Dts | East Pakistan (Bangladesh) | Cyclone | £1,490,000 |
| Template:Dts | India and Pakistan | War | £1,420,000 |
| Template:Dts | Nicaragua | Earthquake | £340,000 |
| Template:Dts | Ethiopia and the Sahel | Drought | £1,540,000 |
| Template:Dts | Honduras | Hurricane | £350,000 |
| Template:Dts | Guatemala | Earthquake | £1,300,000 |
| Template:Dts | Indo-China | War | £560,000 |
| Template:Dts | India | Cyclone | £870,000 |
| Template:Dts | East Africa | Drought | £6,100,000 |
| Template:Dts | Central America | War | £430,000 |
| Template:Dts | Lebanon | War | £1,030,000 |
| Template:Dts | Ethiopia | Famine | £1,970,000 |
| Template:Dts | Africa | Famine | £9,520,000 |
| Template:Dts | Ethiopia | Famine | £5,250,000 |
| Template:Dts | Bangladesh | Cyclone | £1,400,000 |
| Template:Dts | Mozambique | War/Drought | £2,480,000 |
| Template:Dts | Ethiopia | Famine | £2,690,000 |
| Template:Dts | Sudan | Floods | £8,890,000 |
| Template:Dts | Bangladesh | Floods | £5,810,000 |
| Template:Dts | Caribbean | Hurricane | £1,000,000 |
| Template:Dts | Ethiopia | Famine | £10,240,000 |
| Template:Dts | Gulf | War | £3,490,000 |
| Template:Dts | Africa | £7,930,000 | |
| Template:Dts | Bangladesh | Cyclone | £3,520,000 |
| Template:Dts | Africa | £2,600,000 | |
| Template:Dts | Africa | £17,300,000 | |
| Template:Dts | Africa | £2,530,000 | |
| Template:Dts | Yugoslavia | War | £2,600,000 |
| Template:Dts | Rwanda | War/Genocide | £37,000,000 |
| Template:Dts | Sudan | Famine | £10,500,000 |
| Template:Dts | Bangladesh | Floods | £5,500,000 |
| Template:Dts | Central America | Hurricane | £18,500,000 |
| Template:Dts | Kosovo | War | £53,000,000 |
| Template:Dts | India | Cyclone | £7,000,000 |
| Template:Dts | Mozambique | Floods | £30,000,000 |
| Template:Dts | India | Earthquake | £24,000,000 |
| Template:Dts | DR Congo | Volcano | £4,650,000 |
| Template:Dts | Southern Africa | Famine | £16,000,000 |
| Template:Dts | Liberia | War | £2,500,000 |
| Template:Dts | Sudan | War | £35,000,000 |
| Template:Dts | Asia | Tsunami/Earthquake | £392,000,000 |
| Template:Dts | Niger | Famine | £32,000,000 |
| Template:Dts | India and Pakistan | Earthquake | £59,000,000 |
| Template:Dts | Darfur and Chad | War | £13,600,000 |
| Template:Dts | Bangladesh | Cyclone | £9,000,000 |
| Template:Dts | Myanmar (Burma) | Cyclone | £19,500,000 |
| Template:Dts | DR Congo | War | £10,500,000 |
| Template:Dts | Gaza | War | £8,300,000 |
| Template:Dts | Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam | Typhoon/Earthquake/Typhoon | £9,300,000 |
| Template:Dts | Haiti | Earthquake | £107,000,000 |
| Template:Dts | Pakistan | Floods | £71,000,000 |
| Template:Dts | East Africa | Drought/Famine | £79,000,000 |
| Template:Dts | Syria | War | £27,000,000 |
| Template:Dts | Philippines | Typhoon | £96,000,000 |
| Template:Dts | Gaza | War | £19,000,000 |
| Template:Dts | West Africa | Epidemic (Ebola) | £37,000,000 |
| Template:Dts | Nepal | Earthquake | £87,000,000 |
| Template:Dts | Yemen | War/Famine | £30,000,000 |
| Template:Dts | East Africa | Drought/Famine | £66,000,000 |
| Template:Dts | Bangladesh (Rohingya from Myanmar) | Refugees/Genocide | £30,000,000 |
| Template:Dts | Indonesia | Tsunami/Earthquake/Landslide | £29,000,000 |
| Template:Dts | Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe | Cyclone | £43,000,000 |
| Template:Dts | Afghanistan, Bangladesh, DR Congo, India, Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen | Pandemic (COVID-19) | £62,000,000 |
| Template:Dts | Afghanistan | COVID-19/Famine | £51,800,000 |
| Template:Dts | Ukraine | War | £445,000,000 |
| Template:Dts | Pakistan | Floods | £50,000,000 |
| Template:Dts | Turkey, Syria | Earthquake | £160,000,000 |
| Template:Dts | Gaza, Lebanon, West Bank, Syria | War/Famine | £65,000,000 at Template:Dts – ongoing[15] |
| Template:Dts | Myanmar | Earthquake | £27,000,000 at Template:Dts – ongoing[16] |
References
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- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."How we work". Disaster Emergency Committee. 30 January 2015. Archived from the original on 9 October 2017.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Disasters Emergency Committee". Charity Commission for England and Wales. Retrieved 6 April 2026.
- ^ a b Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Disasters Emergency Committee, UK". Emergency Appeals Alliance. Retrieved 7 April 2026.
- ^ a b c Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Appeals Archive". DEC. Retrieved 7 April 2026.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Kweifio-Okai, Carla (25 December 2014). "Where did the Indian Ocean tsunami aid money go?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 April 2026.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Haiti Earthquake Appeal". DEC. Retrieved 7 April 2026.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Wake, Damon (19 February 2009). "BBC Trust backs Thompson over Gaza appeal". The Independent. Retrieved 7 April 2026.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Holmwood, Leigh (26 January 2009). "BBC staff protest over decision not to show Gaza aid appeal". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 7 April 2026.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Gaza Crisis Appeal". DEC. 27 February 2015. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Disasters Emergency Committee appeal for people fleeing Burma reaches £3 million with UK aid support". Department for International Development (Press release). 5 October 2017. Retrieved 7 April 2026 – via gov.uk.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal | Key facts". DEC. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Sherwood, Harriet (6 September 2024). "Aid agency insiders claim BBC 'blocking' Gaza humanitarian appeal". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 April 2026.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content.Craine, Debra (22 March 2022). "Dance for Ukraine review — a fundraising gala of incredible skill and spirit". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 7 April 2026.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Member charities". DEC. Retrieved 7 April 2026.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."DEC Middle East Humanitarian Appeal raises over £65 million". DEC. 18 March 2026. Retrieved 7 April 2026.
- ^ Page Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css has no content."Six months on, DEC Myanmar Earthquake Appeal raises over £27 million". DEC. Retrieved 7 April 2026.
