UAE’s exceptional relief efforts in Yemen

It’s the historic and fraternal relationship between the two countries that prompted the UAE to pursue its efforts to restore security and stability in Yemen.

To this day, the UAE has spared no effort in helping the Yemeni people in their time of need.

The significant point to note is that the United Arab Emirates is the largest donor for Yemeni people during the Humanitarian Response Plan from early 2019 through September 23, 2019, as acknowledged by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The UAE’s humanitarian assistance delivered to the people of Yemen, since 2015 through September 23, 2019, amounted to as much as Dhs21.70 billion, 37 per cent of which — Dhs7.93 billion — is humanitarian aid.

Developmental aid, including rehabilitation and reconstruction projects, accounted for 63 per cent of the UAE’s total aid, which amounts to Dhs13.70 billion.

The assistance has covered 15 primary sectors, including, inter alia, transportation, logistics, power generation & supplies, social and sanitary services, and support for individuals and civil society organisations, therefore covering all aspects of life in Yemen with the ultimate goal of restoring normalcy and re-establishing stability and development.

The Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) has been rendering stupendous service in Yemen, reflecting the UAE’s sincere desire to improve the living conditions of the population and help the Yemeni people build a promising future.

Last week, the ERC’s representative on Yemen’s Red Sea Coast provided aid to 23 families who survived the Houthi shelling in At Tuhayta district, which killed nine people and injured many others, mainly women and children.

Help is extended on multiple fronts.

As part of its preventive healthcare efforts to protect and improve the public health of the Yemeni people, the ERC has launched a fog spraying campaign to control the surge of epidemics, especially cholera, across the Red Sea Coast of Yemen.

The drive is being conducted by the ERC in coordination with the Health and Agriculture Office in the Mocha District of Taiz Governorate, in response to an appeal issued by local health authorities to eradicate mosquito and insect-borne diseases.

Separately, the Aden Water Corporation began operating ten water pumps provided by the UAE, as part of logistical support efforts and in response to an appeal made by the corporation after the recent water shortage in some areas of Aden.

The ERC and the Aden Water Corporation supervised the installation of the pumps located in the Ahmed Well, Nasser Well and Dar Al Manasra Well, which helped raise the overall water production capacity of 37 sub-wells to 50,000 cubic metres per day.

Since 2015, the UAE has supported the Aden Water Corporation by supplying and installing generators and pumps, maintaining its water network, and digging wells.

That’s not all.

The UAE is continuing to support Yemen’s services sectors, including the education sector, which is important to the Yemeni people.

The ERC recently launched the “Back to School Campaign” in Yemen’s Red Sea Coast.

The campaign began with the opening and furnishing of a school and the distribution of school bags to its students. The school is one of 16 destroyed by the war waged by the Houthi militias. These schools will be reopened following their restoration and rehabilitation, with support from the UAE.

With so much of good work being done, it is not surprising that the UAE has won the hearts of the Yemeni people through its humanitarian and developmental initiatives.