Today is World Humanitarian Day. New Zealand’s aid charities have come together to ask our ‘team of five million’ to consider those who are not only fighting COVID, but also hunger and unthinkable hardship.

“We are doing great work in limiting the impact of COVID domestically in New Zealand, but internationally the pandemic is devastating for developing countries where families are also facing increased hunger and insecurity,” says Council for International Development’s (CID) Humanitarian Manager, Aaron Davy.

COVID is set to reverse 30 years of poverty reduction. The UN estimates over 800 million people globally may go hungry this year. 55 % of the global population have no social protection, including 1.3 billion children.

“Usually we would raise funds to work in places like South Sudan, Bangladesh and Lebanon, and to help people where we can. But COVID has made fundraising challenging, and travel impossible.”

Aid charities are asking Kiwis to mark today, World Humanitarian Day, as New Zealand’s ‘Global Giving Day’.

“Look after your family and your neighbours, but today we also ask you to look out for those struggling to survive as they deal with COVID outbreaks on top of extreme poverty. An increase in poverty internationally is only going to decrease our own ability to manage challenges that don’t stop at the border – including COVID,” says Aaron Davy.

Please go the CID website to find a full list of appeals to support, including the following New Zealand based appeals:

• Support the Beirut Blast response at Save the Children, Oxfam, ADRA, Care International, Christian World Service, UN Women Aotearoa, TearFund, World Vision and UNICEF
• Support the COVID response at Christian World Service, Oxfam, UNICEF, TearFund, Caritas, ChildFund, Orphans Aid, World Vision and Rotary
• Support the Big Hearts/ Connected World campaign to increase aid (Oxfam, World Vision and Christian World Service, with support from other agencies)

All charities listed are CID members, and signatories to the CID Code of Conduct which means you can trust in the accountability processes of these aid organisations to get funds to where they are most needed.

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