Dh350m in aid from UAE Red Crescent

Humanitarian organisation’s assistance to projects outside the country makes up almost 85 per cent of total aid given.

ABU DHABI // More than Dh300 million in charity and aid has been given out in the first four months of the year by the Emirates Red Cresent.

The ERC carried out humanitarian, charitable, relief and development programmes worth Dh349.23m, with Dh300.75m of that going overseas.

The ERC offered Dh11.9m to 4,327 families locally as well as Dh9m to 922 patients. It also offered Dh9.7m to 2,477 students.

About 8,000 families with 40,000 members had benefited from the ERC’s humanitarian and development programmes, and more than 94,000 orphans were sponsored within and outside the UAE.

Fahad Abdulrahman bin Sultan, deputy secretary general of the organisation, said the ERC has focused on implementing development projects that enhance the ability of populations in the most vulnerable countries to overcome financial, social and economic problems.

He said assistance worth Dh169.5m had been given to countries such as Syria, Palestine, Jordan, Serbia and others.

The amounts, Mr bin Sultan said, were meant to provide projects in education, construction and housing, which will support individual livelihoods.

Dh2.2m was also spent on the UAE water aid initiative, Suqia, and Dh6.4m was allocated to provide medical assistance, school stationery and carers for those with special needs.