You can help save a life in Somalia: Ways to donate

1.2014991-3747174334 — Displaced Somali women stand in queue to receive food handouts in a camp outside of Mogadishu, Somalia. Image Credit: AP

Dubai: You can help save lives in Somalia where an estimated 6.2 million people – equivalent to almost 70 per cent of the UAE’s population — are in need of humanitarian assistance.

The Dubai Media Office on Friday tweeted a campaign of the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) called ‘For Your Sake, Somalia’ as it aims to raise badly needed humanitarian aid for the eastern African country before Ramadan through a live telethon on Friday.

To donate to #UAE's Aid Campaign for Somalia:
.@etisalat
AED 10,SMS to 4010
AED 50,SMS to 7050
AED100,SMS to 7100
AED200,SMS to 7200 pic.twitter.com/bKPhMamX1A
— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) April 21, 2017

According to the United Nations, to meet the emergency needs of more than a million Somalis affected by drought, it would need $24.6 million (Dh90.3 million) in funding from international donors.

The current situation is increasingly mirroring the famine that struck the country six years ago that claimed the lives of a quarter of a million people.

In the UAE, the ERC has teamed up with telecom companies du and etisalat to enable private individuals to donate money ranging from Dh10 to Dh200.

To donate to #UAE's Aid Campaign for Somalia: @dutweets users
AED 10,SMS to 7110
AED 50,SMS to 7150
AED100,SMS to 7100
AED200,SMS to 7200 pic.twitter.com/tKHCrCdPul
— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) April 21, 2017

Meanwhile, on the ERC’s website, individuals and corporations have more options to donate in different projects in Somalia. Buying 10 food parcels is for Dh2,000, buying medicines is for Dh5,000, donating five goats is equivalent to Dh5,490, while a water transport car would cost Dh2,115.

Donors may also choose to help projects like intensive care units in hospitals for Dh250,000 or ambulance projects for Dh130,000, or general surgery room projects for Dh300,000, among others.

The UAE last week pledged to give at least Dh500 million aid to famine-hit Somalia in the coming weeks.

On Wednesday, the ERC’s humanitarian convoy was bombed near the Somalian capital Mogadishu but the UAE said the terror attack will not deter its humanitarian efforts in Somalia.