Minimising suffering among the needy

The One Billion Meals initiative seeks to provide vital food support to the needy in 50 countries in line with the spirit of Ramadan.

As His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said via his Twitter account: “Today, we begin the One Billion Meals campaign, the largest food drive to battle hunger in 50 countries around the globe. Ramadan is a Holy Month where we promote empathy and solidarity with the 800 million hungry people.”

His Highness highlighted that there is a real humanitarian crisis due to hunger and lack of food security. He added that the campaign will deliver one billion humanitarian messages from the UAE to the world.

The campaign will open its donation channels to individual and corporate donors from within the UAE and around the world.

According to a recent UN report, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen remain the countries of highest concern where hunger is concerned. According to the most recent assessments, all four countries had areas where people were experiencing, or projected to experience, starvation and death, requiring the most urgent attention.

World hunger and malnutrition levels worsened dramatically in 2020, with most of the increase probably due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to another UN report published last year. After remaining virtually unchanged for five years, the number of undernourished people rose to around 768 million in 2020, equivalent to 10% of the world’s population and an increase of around 118 million versus 2019, the report said.

The UAE continues to promote and spread its humanitarian message to the world. It is committed to contributing to the advancement of quality of life worldwide, preserving humanity and minimising suffering in needy communities. Innovative humanitarian initiatives such as One Billion Meals strengthen the UAE’s status as an impactful contributor to international efforts to face humanitarian challenges.

The UAE, in line with the directives of its wise leadership, is taking a unique approach to elevate charitable and humanitarian work, and has been able to achieve a qualitative leap in improving relief aid.  The cardinal thing to remember is: giving is an inherent part of Emirati culture, and generosity is a characteristic ingrained in the people of the UAE.  Organised by Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, the One Billion Meals campaign aims to support the neediest around the world by providing food aid of all kinds in line with the spirit of the Holy month of Ramadan.

The One Billion Meals campaign builds on the success of the 100 Million Meals campaign, which ran during Ramadan last year and exceeded all its targets to collect 220 million meals and distribute them around the world. The target of One Billion Meals initiative is to collect an additional 780 million meals and distribute them over 50 countries around the world.

Ibrahim Bumelha, Adviser to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum for Cultural and Humanitarian Affairs and the Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees of MBRCH, emphasised that the One Billion Meals initiative characterises the humanitarian values to which the UAE adheres throughout its leadership, institutions and generous, tolerant and compassionate society.

This generosity is continuous and sustainable, and its impact reaches far and wide every year. The UAE’s founding fathers forged this path, and it endures under the auspices of the leaders today. Arabs are known for their generosity and the UAE is a scintillating example of the humane spirit. Perhaps this is a reason why it is so blessed.