DUBAI // Starving women and children in drought-stricken regions of Ethiopia will receive life-saving food assistance, thanks to a new partnership between Dubai Cares and Save the Children. Dubai Cares, launched during Ramadan last year by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, is providing the funds to set up the emergency nutritional programmes.
Tens of thousands of malnourished Ethiopian children and women in areas of the Southern Nations and Nationalities People's Region, Oromiya and Somalia Regional State will benefit from the programme. Reem al Hashimy, the Minister of State and chairman of the Dubai Cares board of directors, said yesterday: "We are committed to providing emergency relief to the people of Ethiopia during this time of great need.
"The escalating food crisis triggered by a growing drought and rising food prices has put large numbers of Ethiopian children and their families at risk." With the support of Dubai Cares, Save the Children will establish eight community-based therapeutic care (CTC) sites to assist nearly 26,000 moderately malnourished children and 4,900 severely malnourished children under the age of five. The programme will also reach 21,600 pregnant or lactating mothers.
Emergency CTC programmes provide services within a day's walk for the target population, using key people to pass messages to the rest of the community. The initiative marks an expansion of the Dubai organisation's support into nutritional and educational programmes. It also strengthens its partnership with Save the Children, which was announced in April, and has already provided support for primary education programmes in Sudan and Yemen.
Dubai Cares, which prides itself on being a multilateral, transparent, non-profit organisation, is the largest charitable establishment solely devoted to improving access to primary education around the world. It has given priority for grants to countries demonstrating the highest gap in primary education, including Bangladesh, Bosnia, Chad, Comoros Islands, Djibouti, Maldives, Mauritania, Niger, Pakistan, the Palestinian Territories, Sudan and Yemen as well as Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan.
"This partnership with Dubai Cares is significant," said Margaret Schuler, Save the Children's country director in Ethiopia. "It will allow Save the Children to access critically needed food commodities to support the needs of thousands of children in Ethiopia who are the most dramatically impacted by the current food crisis. "We greatly appreciate the support." @email:loatway@thenational.ae
