Dubai’s humanity reaches out to help the world

The UAE’s relentless war against the coronavirus is commendable. Dubai is making herculean efforts to stem the spread of the virus. As part of its intensified testing campaign, MoHAP announced 2,948 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of recorded cases in the UAE to 303,609.

It has also kept the death toll low. It announced 12 deaths due to COVID-19 complications, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 850.

The Dubai Police General Command is encouraging all members of the community to report any violations of COVID-19 precautionary measures through Dubai Police’s Call Centre (901) or via the ‘Police Eye’ service. It also urged members of the community to strictly adhere to the precautionary measures against COVID-19. Dubai Police said that its 901 Call Centre and the ‘Police Eye’ service can receive reports related to violations of COVID-19 precautionary measures outlined by the Ministry of Health and Prevention.

The UAE is not only doing its best to stem the virus from spreading on its shores, it is also helping other countries curb the pandemic. In a move that is typical of its helping nature, Dubai launched the Vaccine Logistics alliance to speed up distribution of COVID-19 vaccines around the world through the emirate.

The move follows the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.

In support of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) COVAX initiative and its efforts to equitably distribute two billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines in 2021, the Dubai Vaccines Logistics alliance combines the expertise and global reach of Emirates airline with DP World’s worldwide network of ports and logistics operations, along with the infrastructure of Dubai Airports and International Humanitarian City to distribute vaccines worldwide. The distribution will particularly focus on emerging markets, where populations have been hard-hit by the pandemic.

The Dubai Vaccine Logistics Alliance is working with a broader set of stakeholders including pharmaceutical manufacturers, forwarders, government agencies and other entities for transportation of vaccines.

Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Dubai Airports and Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Airline and Group, said, “We currently stand at the cusp of a historic moment with the rollout of vaccines for countering COVID-19, a pandemic that has disrupted the lives of people around the world.”

The UAE is leading the world in terms of rolling out the vaccine, and in line with Sheikh Mohammed’s vision to facilitate a global solution for the wellbeing of communities, the Dubai Vaccine Logistics alliance brings together key organisations to expedite the worldwide transport of urgently needed vaccines through Dubai.”

Sheikh Ahmed added, “Each alliance partner brings to the table a specific and complementary set of strengths and capabilities in vaccine distribution. Together, we are able to store a large volume of vaccine doses at a time and bring in and distribute vaccines to any point around the world within 48 hours.”

Under the stewardship of Sheikh Mohammed, the International Humanitarian City, based in Dubai, has evolved to become the largest humanitarian hub in the world. Since the current global crisis began, the IHC has facilitated the distribution of over 80 per cent of the WHO’s global medical response in the fight against COVID-19. DP World is doing its own share of the significant work. Its logistics operations will facilitate the collection of vaccines from manufacturing sites in places like Europe, the US and India and deliver them to airports, seaports and dryports for onward transportation.

The firm will use state-of-the-art means in its operations. It will deploy its track-and-trace technology, such as Cargoes Flow, to give real-time information on the location of shipments, and continual temperature control and monitoring.

DP World’s ports and terminals, including Jebel Ali in Dubai which is one of the largest in the world, will be used to ship, store and distribute medical devices, such as syringes and wipes.