HALA AL KHAYYAT (ABU DHABI)
Zayed Humanitarian Day commemorates the legacy of the UAE’s Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, who dedicated his life in service of humanity where distance proved no obstacle to spread the spirit of fraternity across the world.
The humanitarian aid that the UAE presents to the world began with its establishment in 1971, based on the vision of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, as race, religion, colour or gender never stand in way of his humanitarian interventions
By institutionalising humanitarian work and giving it a comprehensive character, the late Sheikh Zayed’s approach took the UAE to centre stage in humanitarian response. The country’s efforts are not limited to providing in-kind assistance but underwent a holistic overhaul.
As a result of these humanitarian efforts the UAE continued to maintain its position of being among the world’s top 20 donors.
The late Sheikh Zayed established the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development in 1971 as a leading national entity to provide development aid to developing countries in the form of concessionary loans and administering grants on behalf of the Abu Dhabi government.
In 1992, the late Sheikh Zayed also established Zayed Charitable & Humanitarian Foundation to be an extended arm in the arenas of humanitarian aid within the country. Since its establishment, the Foundation has succeeded in providing aid to more than 166 countries around the world, which focused on health, education, relief and various other forms of aid.
Active Roles The UAE has become an active force in efforts to confront international humanitarian challenges and has maintained its strong presence in the field of humanitarian aid and emergency and long-term relief aid across the world due to its diverse forms of humanitarian interventions. In this regard, the UAE cooperates with UN agencies, programmes and funds or through direct bilateral arrangements with countries.
In a report on Arab development assistance spanning four decades, the World Bank indicated that the UAE is one of the most generous donor countries in the world in providing official development aid. The country has provided more than 12% of the total Arab official government development aid between the years 1973 - 2008, according to the report.
Direct Response The UAE’s efforts in the field of humanitarian relief include direct and rapid response to emergency situations, as well as contributions made to multilateral organisations to alleviate the suffering of afflicted peoples.
The UAE’s multiple initiatives to deal with the drought disaster in the Horn of Africa in 2011 bear testimony to the vital role the UAE plays in humanitarian aid, as its rapid action had the greatest impact in mobilising and coordinating international efforts to confront this humanitarian disaster and contain its repercussions at various levels.
Over the past years, the UAE mobilised emergency supplies and medical support for victims of earthquakes, storms, floods and famines that struck Indonesia, the Philippines, Haiti, Pakistan and Somalia.
The Gallant Knight Among the most important urgent aids that the UAE initiated is operation “Gallant Knight 2” to help those affected by the earthquake in Syria and Türkiye, and Operation “Gallant Knight 3” to provide relief aid to the people of Gaza which included the establishment of two field hospitals, the first inside the Gaza Strip and the second a floating hospital off the coast of the city of Al Arish.
The humanitarian operation includes the establishment of five bakeries, where flour is also provided to eight bakeries in Gaza, in addition to the establishment of six desalination plants with a total capacity of 1,200,000 gallons per day to pump water to the Gaza Strip, benefiting over 600,000 people.
The Joint Operations Command also recently launched operation “Birds of Goodness” to drop humanitarian aid to isolated areas that cannot be reached by aid in the northern Gaza Strip, where the total aid dropped as of last Wednesday amounted to 574 tonnes of relief and humanitarian aid.
Aid in Numbers Since the founding of the UAE in 1971 until 2014, the total number of countries that have benefited from the projects and programmes provided by UAE donor institutions reached 178 countries, and the value of this aid stood at Dh173 billion.
Today, more than 40 donors and charitable institutions have launched humanitarian operations from the UAE, whose assistance covers all countries of the world.
According to the 2022 Foreign Aid Report, the UAE has maintained its position on the list of the most prominent development partners in the world and is known for being one of the most generous countries in terms of the ratio of official development aid relative to its gross national income.
The total value of foreign aid provided by the UAE during the year 2022 reached Dh12.67 billion, according to the latest report on foreign aid from the UAE issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which reflects a noticeable increase estimated at about 12% compared with the UAE contributions provided in the year 2021.
The total value of foreign aid provided by the UAE between 2018 and 2022 stood at an estimated Dh92.22 billion and the total UAE support provided to international causes amounted to Dh6.51 billion, representing 0.33% of gross national income.