Publish Date : 04-Jan-2019
DFID has announced that it will provide 1 million to the World Health Organisation this year to help enhance its Early Warning Alert and Response System (EWARS) to prevent the spread of life-threatening infectious diseases among the 800,000 Rohingya refugees in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh.
The UK is stepping up their efforts for global humanitarian crises in 2019 and harnessing the power of satellite and supercomputer technology to better predict where disasters will strike.
The UK will take early action to prepare for crises where possible in 2019, not just dealing with the aftermath of dire humanitarian incidents. The need for humanitarian aid will remain especially high in 2019, driven by conflict in countries like Cameroon and the Central African Republic.
Food insecurity will also be a top concern and priority for the humanitarian community, including in Afghanistan, which this year experienced severe drought.
International Development Secretary, Penny Mordaunt said, One in every 70 people worldwide is caught up in a humanitarian crisis, and throughout 2018 UK aid has been at the heart of providing life-saving assistance to those in need: from supporting efforts to prevent and curb Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo to tackling the risk of catastrophic famine in Yemen.
She further said, With 132 million people almost double the population of the UK expected to need emergency aid next year, we must act even quicker and smarter to better prepare for humanitarian crises before disaster strikes.
Acting early not only helps the UK and developing countries to save money, but also saves more lives. UK aid is leading the way in being better prepared, making use of science, research and innovation to shape a global humanitarian system fit for 2019.
UK aid is harnessing technology, such as space satellites and super computers, to help improve warning systems to better predict the impact of global humanitarian crises, including:
using some of the most accurate weather forecasts in the world to help families, communities and governments prepare for El Nino which could affect up to 25 countries;
working smartly with the Met Office, NASA and US scientists to accurately predict where and when cholera will spread in Yemen;
teaming up with the UK Space Agency to help farmers in Kenya, Ghana and Zambia to understand when pests or disease may strike, allowing preventative action to be taken more quickly.
Ms Mordaunts comments on humanitarian aid in 2019 follow a 34 million uplift in UK aid support to the United Nations Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF), which supports the UN to respond rapidly to crises across the world. The UK is one of CERFs leading supporters, and in 2018 is its largest donor.
Throughout 2018, this fund provided time-critical life-saving assistance to millions of people in 45 countries, including Yemen, Syria, South Sudan and Nigeria.
UK aid provided life-saving assistance, including food, water, medical care and shelter to millions of people desperately in need in 2018.
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