Dubai: Organisations and individuals across the UAE donated Dh80.4 million to the UAE Water Aid Campaign (UAE Suqia) on its fifth day.
The campaign, which aims to provide clean drinking water to five million people across 60 countries, has managed to raise funds that will help provide clean drinking water to 3.218 million people around the world, achieving 64 per cent of its target.
Since its launch, the project has dug 3,058 wells in areas that are in desperate need of water.
UAE Water Aid, was launched by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, after he realised that each year more than 3.4 million people die from water-related diseases.
The money donated to the campaign will go towards: digging wells in villages that suffer from scarcity of water, providing water tanks in places that have water but do not know how to use it wisely, installing pipelines in villages and building water treatment plants that will cost from Dh500,000 to Dh700,000
Donors on the fifth day included Dubai Police, which donated Dh2.5 million that will help provide clean drinking water to 40,000 people. Ahmad Seddiqi and Sons donated Dh1 million to help providing clean drinking water to 40,000 people.
Gulf Craft Inc donated Dh500,000, that will provide clean drinking water to a total of 20,000 people. Aswaaq, on the other hand, pledged to donate its total value of water sales until 18th of Ramadan.
The Emirates Red Crescent will be in charge of implementing the campaign through its 11 offices that are located in different parts of the world, as well as its offices that are available in its 33 embassies.
The first phase of the campaign will be implemented in Pakistan, India, Niger, Somalia, Ghana, Sudan, Indonesia, Togo, and Iraq. Between 2009 and 2013, the UAE’s total foreign aid related to water problems totalled Dh1.01 billion through various projects in 61 countries around the world, a report of the Ministry of Development and International Cooperation said.
