The UK’s international aid charities have joined up under the umbrella of the Disasters Emergency Committee to launch an emergency appeal to raise money to tackle the growing crises in Darfur, Chad and the Central African Republic.

The campaign was unveiled just a matter of days after a survey of 46 aid agencies carried out by Reuters AlertNet found that 78 per cent felt they could not speak out about the true scale of the humanitarian crisis in Darfur for fear of being ejected from the area by authorities. Nearly two thirds also said they could not reveal the details of the restrictions on their work.

The agencies involved in the DEC appeal include the British Red Cross, Cafod, CARE International UK, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide, Help the Aged, Islamic Relief, Merlin, Oxfam, Save the Children, Tearfund and World Vision.

Prime Minister Tony Blair, Conservative leader David Cameron and Sir Menzies Campbell, leader of the Liberal Democrats, have all offered their support to the appeal and have urged the public to give generously.

The appeal was launched on 24 May, and by 29 May it was already on target to raise £3 million. Latest figures show it is the first time web donations to the DEC have outstripped telephone pledges. The average donation is £50.

DEC chief executive Brendan Gormley said: “This is a heartening response by the British public and shows that they do care about the ongoing crisis in Darfur. Aid agencies on the ground are working flat out to alleviate the suffering. I urge people to carry on giving because the more money we have, the more lives we can save.”