Dubai: Standing up for humanitarian causes and lending a helping hand to those in need is enshrined in the UAE’s guiding principles. As global hots spots around the world are beset by problems, both man-made and natural, with wars, floods and, famine leaving thousands of people in need of food, shelter, clothing, medicine and funds for education, the UAE has time and again risen to the occasion to give generously.
The country has always believed in leading the way rather than following, and for this reason has earned itself a coveted position on the global stage.
In 2015, the UAE was declared the world’s largest donor of official development aid relative to its national income for 2014.
According to figures from the Development Assistance Committee at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), official development aid provided by the country was Dh18 billion, 1.17 per cent of the UAE’s gross national income.
“The UAE does not provide conditional assistance or wait for returns. The UAE simply wants stability and welfare for the people around the world,” His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, had said at the launch of the UAE Foreign Aid Report 2013, commenting on the deeply entrenched charitable disposition of the UAE.
More recently, Dr Sulaiman Al Jasem, former vice-president of Zayed University, remarked: “The UAE has always been in places where the people need our help. Take Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia and others. Our people have always been there to help in any way they can.”
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Some of the humanitarian initiatives by the UAE in 2015
November 8, 2015
Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) expanded its relief operations and humanitarian projects in regions of Yemen which have been liberated from Al Houthi control. More than 141,968 families benefited from such programmes in Taiz, Lahj, Abyan, Shabwa, Aden, Bab Al Mandab and Al Subaiha areas.
November 2, 2015
Emirates Red Crescent plans to spend around Dh400 million on rebuilding Yemen’s electricity, sanitation, health and water infrastructure.
October 20, 2015
A month-long campaign launched in the UAE to collect clothes for people in the war-affected areas of Yemen. Launched on October 21, the ‘Clothes for Compassion’ campaign continues to collect and dispatch clothes.
October 18, 2015
The UAE delivered 75 tonnes of relief materials to Yemen. The plane carrying 64 tonnes of food aid and 11 tonnes of medical aid was distributed in Yemeni hospitals and medical centres in various governorates and Socotra.
September 19, 2015
The management of the UAE Project to Assist Pakistan (UAEPAP) announced the completion of the Cadet College Wana, the largest educational project in the South Waziristan region built by UAE at a cost of $5.4 million (Dh19.8 million).
September 16, 2015
Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid launched the Arab Reading Challenge, a competition with $3 million in prizes to get 1 million Arab children to read 50 million books.
September 16, 2015
The UAE has provided Dh4 billion in aid since the onset of the crisis in Syria, of which more than half is for humanitarian purposes.
September 4, 2015
The ‘Yemen: We Care’ fundraising campaign was raised to more than Dh500 million after an 11th-hour donation in a telethon broadcast live across the UAE.
August 23, 2015
The UAE provided humanitarian aid totalling Dh744 million ($202 million) and has become the world’s largest aid donor to Yemen in 2015.
August 2, 2015
A ship carrying 450 tonnes of humanitarian foodstuffs arrived at the port of Bosaso in Somalia as part of the UAE’s efforts to help alleviate the suffering of the Somali people.
July 11, 2015
The UAE immunised more than 20.6 million Pakistani children against polio, with nearly 87 million vaccines administered as part of the Emirates Polio Campaign.
June 21, 2015
The UAE Embassy in Senegal distributed more than 5,000 food parcels as part of its iftar programme. These were financed by the Khalifa Bin Zayed Foundation, Emirates Red Crescent, Dubai Charity Association and Sharjah Charity International.
June 17, 2015
Emirates Red Crescent offered Dh50,000 to the Malaysian Red Crescent to implement an iftar project.
June 06, 2015
The UAE’s Human Appeal International (HAI) gave $260,000 (Dh954,967) to local societies in four months until June to help 1,600 Palestinian orphans in the City of Tulkarem, West Bank.
May 13, 2015
A third batch of medical volunteers, comprising senior doctors and specialists, arrived in Nepal to work as part of the UAE medical volunteers’ team. The team provided treatment to people affected by the earthquake in April 2015 that killed about 8,000 people and injured 17,000.
March 19, 2015
The UAE ordered $1.2 million (Dh4.41 million) for emergency relief efforts for the South Pacific islands hit by tropical cyclone Pam.
March 13, 2015
Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid announced that the UAE had offered $4 billion to back Egypt. He added that $2 billion (Dh 7.2 billion) would be deposited in the Egyptian Central Bank, and the remaining $2 billion would be used to activate the Egyptian economy.
February 17, 2015
The UAE provided Dh55 million in food aid for Palestinian refugees in Damascus.
February 2, 2015
The UAE provided Dh21.5 billion in foreign aid in 2013, the highest contribution by any country in 50 years.
February 1, 2015
The UAE ordered emergency food aid be sent to those affected in the city of Al Abraq, because of the recent events taking place in Libya.
January 9, 2015
A telethon organised for Syrian refugees reeling from the effects of Snowstorm Huda witnessed an outpouring of generosity and support. The telethon organised by the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) raised Dh150 million for the Syrian refugees.
January 3, 2015
The UAE has been named the world’s largest donor of official development assistance in 2013, offering $5.4 billion (Dh19.84 billion), representing 1.34 per cent of its Gross National Income.
Compiled by Gulf News Archives
