Dubai: The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI) touched the lives of 71 million people across 108 countries with Dh1.3 billion worth of humanitarian and social projects and relief campaigns in 2019.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, on Saturday unveiled the 2019 Annual Report of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, MBRGI.
The report was unveiled during a virtual meeting organised by the MBRGI, the largest regional foundation in terms of the number of institutional initiatives that lead wide-reaching programmes and projects on a global scale.
Sheikh Mohammed expressed his happiness with the results, saying: “I would like to thank the hundreds of full-time employees working together with over 120,000 volunteers to carry out our humanitarian initiatives across the world.
“Improving lives brings us happiness and empowering anyone in need brings us honour. Creating hope is a successful investment that will reap outstanding results in our society and the world. We launched 30 charitable and humanitarian foundations and we are ready to launch more,” Sheikh Mohammed added.
In 2019, around Dh262 million went towards Humanitarian Aid and Relief projects and programmes that touched the lives of more than 17 million people around the world, of whom 9 million people benefitted from clean water projects of the UAE Water Aid Foundation (Suqia) in developing countries. Suqia drilled wells and developed water distribution and purification networks across the world to address water scarcity throughout last year.
Around 2.6 million people across the world benefitted from the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Establishment’s (MBRCH) projects and initiatives centered on empowering youth. The Establishment bolstered its youth-centric services by supporting education and building schools, and implemented several developmental initiatives to improve lives in disadvantaged societies and improve future outlook for success.
Also in 2019, the UAE Food Bank collected 13,488 tonnes of food from the hospitality sector, food establishments and restaurants before redistributing it to those in need across the country in 2019.
Aid operations continued from the International Humanitarian City (IHC) to aid communities stricken by natural disasters, crises or conflicts. Through advanced infrastructure and strategic location in Dubai, the IHC members of 76 United Nations organisations, international non-governmental organisations and intergovernmental organisations dispatched 1,070 shipments with more than Dh246 million worth of humanitarian relief to countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. IHC supported an additional 13 shipments carrying over 1,000 tonnes of aid worth Dh18 million, which cost Dh14.5 million to transport.
More than 30 entities and initiatives under the umbrella of MBRGI carry out hundreds of projects and programmes to improve lives across five main pillars of Humanitarian Aid & Relief, Spreading Education and Knowledge, Healthcare & Disease Control, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and Empowering Communities.
