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As Red Nose Day returned to TV screens this evening on BBC One, former Doctor Who actor and Red Nose Day supporter David Tennant announced that an incredible £6million of public donations will be match-funded by the UK Government to support life changing work across Africa.
This £6million donation from the UK Government’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), will support people and communities across Africa as part of its long-standing partnership with Comic Relief.
The funding will support locally led organisations on early childhood development, providing access to mental health services, improving gender equality and tackling climate in communities across Ghana, Zambia and Malawi.
Lord Ahmad, Minister for South Asia, North Africa, the United Nations and the Commonwealth at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, said: “The UK Government will match fund up to £6m of public donations, pound for pound, to Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day appeal. Thanks to your generosity locally-led organisations across Ghana, Zambia and Malawi will be able to bring lasting change to their communities by supporting women and girls to fulfil their potential, allowing young children to survive and thrive, and giving people access to mental health services and a safe place to call home.”
Comic Relief has partnered with the UK Government since 2009 to jointly fund projects across sub-Saharan Africa, helping to improve the lives of over 8.4 million people.
The new funding will support Comic Relief and FCDO’s Shift the Power programme, which aims to lead the way on building a more organic and people-led programme, that shifts power closer to communities by empowering and working with locally led organisations to create more tangible and sustainable change.
Samir Patel, CEO, Comic Relief said: “We are delighted to receive strong support for our international work from the UK Government. The generous £6 million funding will be invested in locally led organisations across Africa that focus on empowering women and girls, supporting the development of young children, increasing mental health support and addressing gender inequality. This money will support some of the most vulnerable people in society and make a real difference to their lives.”
Money raised from this Red Nose Day will help people in the UK and around the world live free from poverty, violence and discrimination – this includes those impacted by the cost-of-living crisis, the drought in East Africa and the recent earthquake in Syria and Turkey.
