DUBAI // One hundred lorries are taking aid to Jebel Ali Port, where it will be loaded on to a ship to help Yemenis hit hard by the Houthi aggression.
First-line responders at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees have embarked on phase two of the operation to move aid and equipment from Dubai International Humanitarian City to the Pangani cargo ship. It is expected to take 10 days to reach Yemen via Djibouti.
The latest shipment includes 69,337 sleeping mats, 160,040 blankets, 19,413 kitchen sets and 9,527 four metre by five metre plastic tarpaulins.
The shipment has a total value of Dh6.68 million.
Since aid operations to Yemen from the UAE began, 717.6 metric tonnes have left the country by sea and air, helping thousands of people affected by the fighting between Saudi forces and the Iran-backed Houthi militia.
The Dubai aid operation is run by a small team that includes Soliman Mohammed Daud, a Sudanese senior global supply officer of 17 years.
“So far the operation has gone very smoothly,” said the 59-year-old. “There are few challenges from the Dubai side, just the intensity of the job and the volume of supplies we are shipping.
“It takes about two days to fill the warehouses. We have a small team but it is a combination of man and machine to help get the job done.
“There is a similar operation on the Yemen side that is unloading the items and delivering them to where they are needed.
“In Yemen, people are struggling so they urgently need this help. Many have left their homes with nothing.”
Established in 2006, Humanitarian City is in an ideal location to stockpile aid, in part because of its proximity to Jebel Ali Port, the Middle East’s biggest seaport. It has helped reduce transit times from several months to just weeks.
The Dubai aid hub is one of seven worldwide. There are two in East Africa, two in West Africa, and one each in Denmark and Jordan. At 14,000 square metres, the Dubai facility is the biggest.
“We have seven airports and the port of Jebel Ali close by, so Dubai is in the perfect location to utilise an operation of this kind,” said Mr Daud.
“This is a key facility for Yemen for its location, but Djibouti is also an important logistical hub.”
In addition to shipping, UNHCR said that it had delivered six emergency aid flights from Sharjah airport to the Yemen capital, Sanaa, in the past two weeks. The flights carried 150 metric tonnes of relief, in what is part of the larger aid effort to help 250,000 people.
A similar operation is under way for Nepal, where temporary shelters and emergency aid are needed for those displaced by the recent earthquakes.
Since 2012, demand for aid from the UNHCR has increased by 35 per cent, mainly as a result of the conflict in Syria.
Blankets, buckets, jerry cans, kitchen sets, sleeping mats, mosquito nets, plastic sheets, family tents and solar lanterns make up the list of core relief items, with Syria, Iraq and Ethiopia the three biggest beneficiaries.
nwebster@thenational.ae
