UAE to deliver urgent humanitarian assistance to quake victims in Albania

Through its humanitarian arm, the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC), the UAE will provide emergency relief assistance worth AED13 million to the victims of the earthquake that struck Albania on 26th November, 2019.

The humanitarian assistance will be sent under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and monitoring of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler's Representative in Al Dhafra Region and Chairman of the ERC.

Emergency workers clear debris at a damaged building in Thumane after an earthquake hit Albania. File photo/AFP

The first phase of urgent humanitarian assistance, which includes basic necessities ranging from food to medical and sheltering supplies will benefit 555,000 people.

ERC aid workers will travel to the Albanian capital, Tirana, on Sunday to manage and oversee the distribution of assistance to the most affected regions. They will also inspect the humanitarian conditions in the quake-hit regions to assess the urgent needs and coordinate with local authorities on mechanisms to help them.

The ERC said the UAE is delivering assistance to the Albanian people as part of its international humanitarian responsibility to offer a helping handing to those in need without distinction to any considerations, and as part of the longstanding humanitarian-oriented foreign policy, which made the UAE a world humanitarian capital.

Sheikh Hamdan is personally supervising the ERC relief programmes to provide assistance to affected people, said Dr. Mohammed Ateeq Al Falahi, ERC Secretary-General.

''The UAE's presence at the heart of this humanitarian crisis and its humanitarian assistance and initiatives in Europe underscore that the UAE has become an active and effective factor in the international response to humanitarian catastrophes and crises,'' he added.

He indicated that the ERC team will coordinate with the ERC office in Tirana to implement humanitarian field missions following a survey assessing the life-saving assistance.

A 6.4 magnitude earthquake hit Albania on Tuesday, with the districts of Tiran and Korce being the most affected.

WAM