Abu Dhabi: USAID, the official aid agency of the US finds the UAE as a bridge to reach out to the Muslim countries with humanitarian activities, according to a senior USAID official .
"We think , the UAE can guide us how to work in Muslim countries", Jon Brause, Deputy Assistant Administrator, USAID/DCHA. He was speaking at a press conference at the US Embassy in Abu Dhabi to brief the USAID's preliminary bilateral discussions with the UAE's Foreign Aid Coordination Office (FACO).
"We can take the help of the UAE to work in countries like Somalia and other African countries", Brause said. The official praised the UAE humanitarian efforts in Indonesia on the aftermath of a recent earthquake.
Asked whether USAID's humanitarian efforts would bridge the ‘so called' gap between the west and Muslim world, Brause said the world has been changed a lot and cooperation between FACO and the USAID would better equip the international community to respond to the emergency situations.
The official said that there is no need of a formal agreement or contract to work with FACO. "We discussed the issues of global food security, climate change etc. We will work together to tackle such issues", he said.
Carol Chan, acting director USAID/DCHA Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance(OFDA). Mia Beers, OFDA Senior Policy Coordinator, Nance Kyloh, Senior Humanitarian Advisor, OFDA/ Geneva were also present at the press conference.
A small team enough to tackle major disasters
To tackle emergency situations after a major disaster , there is no need of big team but a small team is enough, said Jon Brause, Deputy Assistant Administrator, USAID/DCHA.
A trained small team can coordinate the entire humanitarian efforts with the help of local organisations and government machineries. He explained that a ten member USAID team coordinated the entire efforts in Indonesia (after recent earthqauke) and they completed the job within two weeks.
In swat valley of Pakistan also, a small team of ten members did the entire works within a few days, he said.
