UAE pledges Dh7.35 million towards Rohingya refugee crisis



The UAE donated Dh7.35 million to the United Nations Refugee Agency in support of Rohingya women and children refugees in Bangladesh.

This funding aims to provide treatment for 132,000 refugees, including 78,000 women and children living in Cox's Bazar-Bangladesh camp and its new communities.

The support will also help UNHCR and its partners reduce mortality rates linked to malnutrition and go towards monitoring and assessing the need for emergency food

The UAE’s donation will contribute towards a larger UN scheme in Bangladesh – which launched last month – to help 1.3 million individuals, including 884,000 Rohingya refugees and 336,000 host communities by the end of this year.

The Rohingya refugee crisis is the fastest growing in the world with more than 655,000 people, more than half of whom are children, forced to flee Myanmar's Rakhine State and seek safe haven in Bangladesh since August 25.

_______________

Read more:

UAE charity witnesses first hand Rohingya's 'catastrophic plight'

UAE medical team in Bangladesh to help Rohingya refugees

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid orders ninth aid airlift for Rohingya refugees 

_______________

Those new refugees joined nearly 213,000 Rohingya refugees who had fled to Bangladesh in previous waves of displacement.

The Dh7.35m aid agreement was signed between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation and the UNHCR on Tuesday.

Toby Harward, director of the UNHCR Office, praised the UAE’s contribution saying it would assist refugees suffering from malnutrition.

"There are huge numbers of Rohingya refugees suffering from severe malnutrition, especially among children under the age of five.

“Such a generous donation by the UAE will save numerous lives. It will help UNHCR and its partners provide the best services in the field of nutrition for Rohingya refugees," he said.

The donation comes as part of greater relief efforts for the Rohingya refugees supported by the UAE.

The UAE's donations to UNHCR global operations in 2017 - 2018 has now reached Dh27.55m.

Since the onset of the crisis last year, UNHCR has sent 16 emergency flights loaded with relief items to Southern Bangladesh.

“Twelve of these flights came out of Dubai, and the UAE paid for the transportation costs of eight of them," said Mr Harward.

He lauded the support provided by both Princess Haya, wife of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and chairperson of the International Humanitarian City, who financed shipment of tents, blankets and mobile kitchens, and Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of the Ruler of Sharjah, and Chairperson of the Big Heart Foundation, who, he said, is the UNHCR Eminent Advocate for Refugee Children and key contributor to the Rohingya crisis.

‘FSO Safer’ - a ticking bomb

The Safer has been moored off the Yemeni coast of Ras Issa since 1988.
The Houthis have been blockading UN efforts to inspect and maintain the vessel since 2015, when the war between the group and the Yemen government, backed by the Saudi-led coalition began.
Since then, a handful of people acting as a skeleton crew, have performed rudimentary maintenance work to keep the Safer intact.
The Safer is connected to a pipeline from the oil-rich city of Marib, and was once a hub for the storage and export of crude oil.

The Safer’s environmental and humanitarian impact may extend well beyond Yemen, experts believe, into the surrounding waters of Saudi Arabia, Djibouti and Eritrea, impacting marine-life and vital infrastructure like desalination plans and fishing ports. 

LOS ANGELES GALAXY 2 MANCHESTER UNITED 5

Galaxy: Dos Santos (79', 88')
United: Rashford (2', 20'), Fellaini (26'), Mkhitaryan (67'), Martial (72')

The Mandalorian season 3 episode 1

Director: Rick Famuyiwa

Stars: Pedro Pascal and Katee Sackhoff

Rating: 4/5 

Pari

Produced by: Clean Slate Films (Anushka Sharma, Karnesh Sharma) & KriArj Entertainment

Director: Prosit Roy

Starring: Anushka Sharma, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Ritabhari Chakraborty, Rajat Kapoor, Mansi Multani

Three stars

The specs

Engine: 2.3-litre, turbo four-cylinder

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Power: 300hp

Torque: 420Nm

Price: Dh189,900

On sale: now


The UAE Today

The latest news and analysis from the Emirates

      By signing up, I agree to The National's privacy policy
      The UAE Today