Dubai: His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, ordered aid flights to transport life-saving humanitarian assistance to Kabul, following a 5.9 magnitude earthquake that hit eastern Afghanistan.
Earlier today, a cargo flight departed from Dubai to Kabul, carrying 24.5 tonnes of essential medicines, medical items and kits to fight cholera, supplied by the World Health Organisation (WHO) from its warehouses at International Humanitarian City (IHC) in Dubai.
The facilitation and transportation of aid come in response to the immediate humanitarian needs of the landlocked Southern Asian country, following a devastating earthquake that claimed the lives of at least 1,000 people, amid fears of a cholera outbreak, besides the country’s already dire humanitarian situation.
‘Accelerating rapid response’
“Reports indicate that this is the deadliest earthquake in two decades, further compounding the alarming humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. The IHC, under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, is accelerating the rapid response of the international humanitarian community as it rallies to come to the aid of those impacted by the disaster,” said Giuseppe Saba, CEO of IHC. He added that many organisations, as part of the IHC umbrella, are working round the clock to mobilise resources. “We are coordinating with them to provide all necessary support to transport relief from our warehouses into Afghanistan. Time is of the essence and Dubai and the UAE’s leadership consider a swift response a humanitarian duty to save lives.”
‘Covering needs of at least 340,000 people’
Dr Dapeng Luo, the WHO Representative in Afghanistan, said: “The trauma and emergency surgery kits that are arriving on this flight from WHO’s logistics hub in Dubai’s International Humanitarian City are absolutely critical to maintain our ongoing support to the people of Afghanistan as these supplies will cover the needs of at least 340,000 people.”
He expressed his gratitude towards the logistical assistance provided by the UAE in support of WHO’s global logistics hub in Dubai.
