Dubai: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched the 2015-2021 strategy for the International Humanitarian City (IHC).
The Vice-President launched the strategy during a ceremony held at the IHC headquarters in the presence of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and Shaikh Maktoum Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid
Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai.
The ceremony included a video presentation on the history of IHC, which was founded on the order of Shaikh Mohammad in 2003, to become a leading global humanitarian logistics hub that connects East and West, in collaboration with the United Nations and international organisations concerned with humanitarian services.
Shaikh Mohammad toured the photo gallery exhibition, which showcases the magnitude and life-changing impact of aid provided by the UN and other international humanitarian organisations based in the IHC, in response to numerous disasters worldwide. The total aid received exceeded Dh 220 million in 2014.
“The UAE, under the leadership of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, will always remain a source of humanitarian goodness and charity, being the legacy of the founding father, the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The IHC's strategy is a roadmap with definite features, goals, objectives and work mechanisms through 2021.''
Shaikh Mohammad donated Dh1 million for the humanitarian city, as a seed of encouragement that motivates the private sector to persevere in financing a steady stream of relief projects locally and internationally.
The launch comes at a critical time for humanitarian efforts worldwide, while also mirroring the evolution of Dubai and the UAE. The International Humanitarian City aims to become a leader that champions humanitarian efforts through innovation and cooperation, pioneering the way as the world's very first humanitarian logistical hub.
Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations, gave a recorded message expressing his sincere gratitude to Shaikh Khalifa and Shaikh Mohammad for their exceptional humanitarian accomplishments. He also praised the UAE for its prominent role and its commitment to work with the UN while providing vital logistical and financial support.
He went on to reiterate the UN's support for the International Humanitarian City.
In a keynote address after the launch, Shaima Al Zarouni, IHC CEO, said the IHC has become the reliable international centre for humanitarian assistance in the Middle East and Africa, noting that the IHC has delivered humanitarian assistance over the past decade to the tune of more than Dh1 billion in total.
She added that assistance is usually delivered within three to seven hours with Al Maktoum International Airport as the base.
She added that the IHC hosts representatives of more than 60 international humanitarian organisations.
The strategy consists of four main pillars:
Connect: Humanity aims to make the IHC a leading organizer, facilitator and host of annual regional and world
humanitarian events. Programs will be set up to engage the Dubai and UAE society, and a world Humanitarian Forum will
be held in the UAE in September every two years.
Innovate: Humanity will enable the IHC to contribute to the goals of the Dubai Smart City and Dubai 2021 plan.
Lead: Humanity that unveiled the establishment of a first-of-its-kind advisory board chaired by Shaikh Mohammad and its Vice President Shaikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Ruler's Representative in the Western Region and President of the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC).
Its respected members include Nabil Al Araby, Secretary General of the Arab League; and several international humanitarian leaders, who attended the event, namely Dr Abdul latif Bin Rashid Al Zayani - Secretary General of the GCC; Baroness Valerie Amos, United Nations Under-Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator; Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director of the World Food Program; and Elhadj As Sy, Secretary General of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.
Partner: Humanity will facilitate CSR partnerships by organizing private sector events and launching the first
International Humanitarian Impact Fund. This will strengthen the IHC's role as a crucial connector and facilitator of
humanitarian work in the private sector.
The launch ceremony was attended by Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and
Chairman of Emirates Group, Shaikh Ahmad Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al
Maktoum Foundation, Shaikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of International Cooperation and Development (MICAD), Mohammad
Abdullah Al Gargawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Abdul Rahman Mohammad Al Owais, Minister of Health, along with
director generals of federal government departments and Dubai government entities as well as representatives of local
and international humanitarian organizations and the private sector.
Established in 2003 by Shaikh Mohammad, the IHC has grown to become the world's largest and busiest logistics hub for
humanitarian aid with UN agencies and other NGOs and commercial entities as members.
The IHC puts Dubai's expertise in transport and logistics to work for aid agencies as they reach out to help the
victims of crises and families whose lives are marred by hunger and poverty.
IHC's capabilities and its strategic location, which puts it within seven hours by air for two-thirds of the world's
population, have helped deliver assistance during some of the worst humanitarian crises of the past decade, including
the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia, the recurring drought in the Horn of Africa, civil unrest in Afghanistan and
Darfur, and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Also, the IHC has been heavily engaged in the emergency response to Syria and the Philippines.
