The 100 Million Meals campaign has successfully distributed 10,868,400 meals in the UAE, in collaboration with the UAE Food Bank. All photos: UAE Government Media Office
Organisers said there were a total of 362,280 beneficiaries in the UAE, made up of 182,916 low-income families and 179,364 low-income individuals.
The 100 Million Meals campaign aims to provide food to those in need across more than 30 countries.
People involved in the project are hard at work.
Generous public donations have helped to raise enough money to exceed initial targets.
Sara Al Nuaimi, director of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global initiative.
Eng. Dawood Al Hajri, vice chairman of the board of trustees of the UAE Food Bank.
More than 10.8 million meals have been distributed in the UAE as part of the 100 Million Meals campaign.
The global humanitarian drive was announced by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, to mark Ramadan this year.
The campaign reached double its target, with enough funds raised to provide 216 million meals to more than 30 countries in the Arab world, Africa, Asia, Europe and South America.
In collaboration with the UAE Food Bank, the campaign distributed 10,868,400 meals in the UAE.
Organisers said there were 362,280 recipients in the UAE – 182,916 low-income families and 179,364 people who earn low incomes.
The campaign distributed 120,760 food parcels that contained essential food items such as rice, flour, chickpeas, lentils, sugar, cooking oil, dates and milk – enough for each recipient to prepare meals for about a month.
More than 1,000 volunteers worked alongside Mohammed bin Rashid Global Initiatives (MBRGI), which organised of the campaign, and the UAE Food Bank to support the distribution efforts.
Sara Al Nuaimi, director at MBRGI, said the campaign "resulted in a supportive social movement, whether through donations or volunteering".
"The undertaking of 1,060 volunteers from the UAE community to support the distribution of food parcels catalysed the completion of the operations," she said.
Dawood Al Hajri, vice chairman of the board of trustees of the UAE Food Bank, said the campaign was the largest donation drive in the region and "a model in inclusive charitable and humanitarian support regardless of ethnicity, religion, or age".
About 385,000 donors from 51 countries supported the initiative, with 20 million meals secured through text message and website donations, while 70 million meals were raised from private-sector contributions.
As part of the campaign, 12 food banks and nine humanitarian organisations have distributed the food parcels in 30 countries across the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Europe and South America.
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024. It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine. Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages]. The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts. With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians. Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved. Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world. The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
