UAE appeals for volunteers to help aid campaign for Lebanon

Emiratis and residents asked to help with humanitarian effort

Emergency aid is loaded onto plane at Dubai airport on Wednesday to support Beirut after the port explosion. On Thursday, the UAE's leaders pledged millions more in in funding and tonnes of equipment for the relief effort. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Aid includes medical equipment to treat injured patients and protect medical staff. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Aid is loaded on a plane to Lebanon at Dubai airport to support Beirut after the explosion. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Aid is loaded on a plane to Lebanon at Dubai airport to support Beirut after the explosion, Dubai. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Aid is loaded on a plane to Lebanon at Dubai airport to support Beirut after the explosion. Chris Whiteoak / The National

Staff from the WHO and Red Cross and Red Crescent sprung into action on Tuesday night as the death and injury toll in Beirut became clear.

The first flight will carry 40 tonnes, mostly bandages, syringes and other medical equipment. Food shipments are expected to follow.

Medical aid is loaded on to a truck at International Humanitarian City in Dubai. All photos by Chris Whiteoak / The National

George Maina, warehouse manager for IFRC, pictured at Humanitarian City outside Dubai.

Staff worked quickly to prepare the shipment for a cargo flight on Wednesday afternoon.

Staff worked quickly to prepare the shipment for a cargo flight on Wednesday afternoon.

Staff worked quickly to prepare the shipment for a cargo flight on Wednesday afternoon.

WHO, Red Cross and Red Crescent societies donated the shipment.

Nevien Attalla, operations manager for WHO's Dubai hub, said the shipment had to double in size once the scale of the situation became clear.

The UAE Volunteers programme has launched a campaign to help send humanitarian aid and reconstruction material to Lebanon.

It is calling on Emiratis and residents to volunteer here in the UAE to assist the Lebanese people following the deadly explosion that rocked Beirut last week.

The initiative - From UAE and For Lebanon - will run in two phases. The first, from August 10 to 25, will collect and prepare humanitarian goods needed in Lebanon, while the second, from August 15 to September 12 will assess material needed in the reconstruction effort.

Volunteers will help organise the material in the UAE, while qualified engineers, specifically, are asked to volunteer for the second phase of the programme.

It comes following an explosion last Tuesday in Beirut that killed at least 158 people and injured more than 6,000. The blast also destroyed large swathes of the Lebanese capital and inflamed an already fraught situation following months of economic and political turmoil.

The UAE has since sent tens of millions of dirhams worth of aid to Lebanon and 12 tonnes of protective equipment to limit the spread of Covid-19. People can also donate to the Emirates Red Crescent relief effort.

The UAE Volunteers programme, meanwhile, was launched last April in a collaboration between the Ministry of Community Development and the Emirates Foundation.

The campaign aims to unify volunteer activities at the national level, promote cooperation between governmental and private sectors, encourage community participation and support efforts to combat the spread of Covid-19.