New York: A new package of medical supplies worth $10.8m (Dh39.7m) will be provided to Yemen by the UAE, an official announced Friday.
The announcement was made during an event organised by the UAE in collaboration with Norway on the sidelines of the 71st Session of the United Nations General Assembly with an aim to mobilise the support of the developmental and humanitarian communities to provide the best health care services for women and children.
The $10.5m aid will be delivered in Yemen through the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The UAE move aims to enhance the health care of Yemeni women and children and comes in line with the global initiative Every Woman Every Child Everywhere.
Speaking on the occasion, Reem Bint Ibrahim Al Hashemi, Minister of State for International Cooperation, said that more than 50 per cent of the deaths of women and children under the age of 5 in disasters and conflicts could have been avoided.
“Statistics alone can push us towards performing our moral duty in the humanitarian action, but through our national experience, we do recognise a long-term and logical reason for that. An educated, healthy and empowered woman can produce an educated and healthy society.”
Al Hashimi expressed the UAE’s pride at working with Norway and the humanitarian and developmental communities to ensure the provision of health care services for women and children in all circumstances.
She pointed out that no country in any region will ever be able to find its feet unless addressing the preventable deaths of children constitutes an essential part of its life.
She further said that the UAE’s collaboration with the global initiative Every Woman Every Child Everywhere will give concrete lessons on how to plan, conduct and evaluate humanitarian operations, especially with regard to the health of women and children.
