Dubai Cares to help hungry Ethiopians

Dubai: Dubai Cares, a charitable establishment that aims to provide access to primary education in developing countries, has announced its partnership with Save the Children to provide life-saving assistance to women and children affected by the growing food crisis in Ethiopia.

The Ethiopia initiative marks an expansion in the scope of an existing partnership between Dubai Cares and Save the Children which was announced in April and has, to date, supported primary education programmes in Sudan and Yemen.

Dubai Cares is partnering with Save the Children to initiate emergency nutrition programmes to aid tens of thousands of malnourished Ethiopian children and women in drought-ridden regions.

Health

Dubai Cares' support will help enable Save the Children to provide key health and nutrition aid through its innovative community-based therapeutic care (CTC) sites. By establishing eight CTCs, Save the Children will reach nearly 26,000 moderately malnourished children and 4,900 severely malnourished children under the age of five in these regions. The programme will also reach 21,600 pregnant or lactating mothers.

Reem Ebrahim Al Hashemi, Minister of State and chairperson of the Dubai Cares board of directors, said: "We are committed to providing emergency relief to the people of Ethiopia during this time of great need. The escalating food crisis triggered by a growing drought and rising food prices has put large numbers of Ethiopian children and their families at risk."

"This partnership with Dubai Cares is significant," said Margaret Schuler, Save the Children's country director in Ethiopia. "It will allow Save the Children to access critically-needed food commodities to support the needs of thousands of children in Ethiopia who are the most dramatically impacted by the current food crisis. We greatly appreciate the support."

Since its launch, Dubai Cares has established itself as a transparent, multilateral, non-profit organisation, operating based on international best-practices for foundations worldwide to ensure financial transparency.

Immediate impact

The charitable organisation has positioned itself as a strategic coordinator actively engaged with international aid agencies to develop primary education programmes and to ensure immediate impact on the ground. It is the largest charitable establishment solely devoted to improving primary education in the world.

Dubai Cares has prioritised its phase one grants to countries that demonstrate the highest gap in primary education. Earlier this year, Dubai Cares announced 12 beneficiary countries, Bangladesh, Bosnia, Chad, Comoros Islands, Djibouti, Maldives, Mauritania, Niger, Pakistan, occupied Palestinian territories, Sudan and Yemen, as well as Palestinian refugees (in Lebanon and Jordan).

Save the Children is the leading independent organisation creating lasting change for children in the United States and around the world. For more than 75 years, Save the Children has been helping children survive and thrive by improving their health, education and economic opportunities and, in times of acute crisis, mobilising lifesaving assistance to help children recover from the effects of war, conflict and natural disasters.