The UAE has joined forces with the UN to provide $20 million in funding to bolster crucial food aid programmes for civilians affected by the war in Sudan.
The key assistance will be delivered under a co-operation agreement between the UAE Aid Agency and the UN World Food Programme.
The relief effort aims to address urgent food security needs of vulnerable groups, including displaced Sudanese people, who are bearing the brunt of the civil war.
The conflict in Sudan erupted in April 2023 when fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the formerly allied paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The SAF and RSF have both been accused of committing war crimes.
The partnership was signed in the presence of Dr Tareq Ahmed Al Ameri, chairman of the UAE Aid Agency, Rashid Salem Al Shamsi, executive director of logistics support at the agency, and Bashar Al Hammami, head of the WFP Partnership Office in the UAE, state news agency Wam reported.
Dr Al Ameri underlined the UAE's commitment to alleviating the suffering of those worst affected by the conflict in Sudan.
He stressed the importance of meeting essential food needs for displaced populations within Sudan as well as in countries hosting Sudanese refugees such as Chad, South Sudan, Uganda and Ethiopia.
He highlighted the shared moral responsibility of the international community for tackling challenges in famine-hit and high-risk areas.
Mr Al Hammami hailed the UAE's contribution to the critical humanitarian operations in Sudan.
“The United Nations World Food Programme expresses its profound gratitude and appreciation to the government of the United Arab Emirates for its generous contribution of $20 million, which will support WFP’s life-saving operations in Sudan," he said.
"This significant contribution will enable us to reach millions of people facing acute hunger and daily hardship, and will have a tangible, life-saving impact on the lives of vulnerable families.”
Vital support
The UAE has provided $4.24 billion in assistance to Sudan since 2015, including $784 million in humanitarian aid since the outbreak of the civil war.
The fighting has created what the UN says is the world’s worst humanitarian and displacement crisis. Tens of thousands of people have been killed and more than 13 million displaced.
The UAE last month signed an agreement to deliver $5 million worth of support to the Sudan Humanitarian Fund.
The deal between the UAE Aid Agency and the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs is designed to strengthen the emergency humanitarian response to the civil war.
