The government will match a further £2 million of public donations to the DEC Myanmar appeal, as total donations reach £9 million in just over a week.

The emergency fundraising appeal was launched last week to help provide aid for the 500,000 people currently fleeing Myanmar. In recent weeks, more than half a million people, mostly Rohingya women and children, have sought refuge in Bangladesh from violence in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

The DEC raised more than £3 million within the first 24 hours of the appeal launching, following national broadcast appeals on BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5, ITV and Sky. One week after launch, donations had reached £7 million.

All 13 DEC member charities, which include Islamic Relief, Save the Children and British red Cross, have already been focussing their work on the ground in Bangladesh, providing shelter, emergency healthcare, food, clean drinking water and sanitation services.

Last Saturday, just three days after the appeal was launched, trucks containing water tanks and other lifesaving equipment from the UK arrived in Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, which has seen hundreds of thousands of people arriving from Myanmar in the last month.

“We are delighted that the next £2m donated by the British public will be matched by the Government, in addition to the £3m already donated,” DEC Chief Executive Saleh Saeed said.

“We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of people in the UK during this emergency appeal and hope that this announcement will inspire even more people to give, knowing that whatever they donate will be matched pound for pound."

The UK Government will match pound for pound the first £5 million donated by the public to the DEC Emergency Appeal.

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