A donation of £20,000 will be made by Inverclyde Council to support the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

Councillors on the local authority’s policy and resources executive sub-committee unanimously agreed at a meeting this afternoon (Thursday 23 December 2021) to hand over the five-figure sum to an appeal launched by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC).

An estimated 22.8 million people are thought to be at risk of acute hunger through a combination of drought, displacement, Covid-19, and conflict.

Around 8m are said to be facing acute hunger, 3.2m children under five are set to suffer serious malnutrition and close to one million are at risk of starvation and death for want of food and medical support.

The council has contributed to several DEC emergency appeals in the past.

Councillor Stephen McCabe, leader of Inverclyde Council and convener of policy and resources, said:

“People in Afghanistan, through no fault of their own, are enduring a torrid time for a variety of factors and I’m pleased that we’ve been able to continue the council’s good track record in supporting major humanitarian crises by making this donation.

“The situation is bleak and lives are on the line so it’s important that we do what we can to support innocent people, including millions of children, who are suffering from starvation, drought, displacement, and the effects of Covid-19.

“I know Christmas is a financially challenging time for many people but I urge anyone out there who can afford to support this appeal to please do so and show that Inverclyde cares.”

The donation to the Afghanistan crisis now takes the council’s financial support to appeals run by the DEC and Oxfam to £120k since 2014.

The council has previously donated sums to a number of appeals, including The Ebola Appeal, Nepal Earthquake Appeal, Malawi Food Crisis Appeal, Yemen Crisis Appeal, and Cyclone Idai Appeal.

Last year, £20,000 was provided to a Covid-19 emergency appeal.

All donations have been funded from the council’s contingency fund and were either for £10,000 or £20,000.

Full details of the Afghanistan Crisis Appeal donation can be found at: www.inverclyde.gov.uk/meetings/meeting/2414 and to donate to the DEC appeal, visit www.dec.org.uk.