Ten million Yemenis to benefit from UAE’s charity programme

“The suffering of our people in Yemen compounds daily with the eminent threat of a real catastrophe,” said Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed, Ruler's Representative in the Western Region and Chairman of ERC.

ABU DHABI // The Emirates Red Crescent on Saturday launched a month-long campaign to ease the suffering of 10 million Yemenis after the onslaught by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

ERC staff will start gathering donations from the public at 200 sites including malls, banks and offices, as part of their You for Yemen programme on Sunday. Proceeds will be used in ERC aid projects in the troubled country.

The campaign was launched under the directives of President Sheikh Khalifa, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed, Ruler’s Representative in the Western Region and Chairman of the ERC, called on businesses and philanthropists to support the campaign.

“The suffering of our people in Yemen compounds daily with eminent threat of a real catastrophe,” he said. “The UAE, led by President Sheikh Khalifa, realised early that the size of the impending catastrophe would affect millions of Yemenis.

The ERC has delivered Dh94 million in aid to Yemen, helping 124,000 families or about 620,000 people.

It set aside Dh300m for relief and development projects and sent seven ships to Aden with 15,000 tonnes of food and goods.

The UAE’s aid to the port city will rebuild the lives of people it played a major role in liberating from the Houthi rebels, who stormed Aden in March.

The ERC aimed to “match the scale and extent of the damage”, said Dr Mohammed Al Falahi, secretary general of the ERC.

“Emirates Red Crescent is conscious of the huge humanitarian efforts that are needed for the next phase, which will be aimed at improving the lives of our Yemeni brothers and restoring life to what it was before the crisis.”

The campaign will “appeal to supporters, philanthropists and donors to assist about 10 million people in Yemen”, Dr Al Falahi said.

“This will go a long way with the Government’s commitment to implement more programmes and projects that meet the needs and aspirations of our Yemeni brothers to lead life in dignity.”

The ERC is focusing its relief efforts in Aden but will take aid to other provinces as they are liberated.

In the first phase of the latest campaign, food bought from local markets in Yemen is being distributed in some provinces.

Generators, provided in coordination with the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Humanitarian Foundation, are helping to get electricity to health, education and other institutions. “There is no doubt that the repercussions of the crisis in Yemen have resulted in a difficult humanitarian situation in all areas of even basic life, and aggravated the scale of suffering epitomised by images of enormous destruction,” Dr Al Falahi said.

“The UAE, as always, is renowned for its swift response to the plight of victims.”

Also yesterday, Tariq Abdou Ali, director of Aden International Airport, thanked the UAE for restoring operations there.

Aden International reopen to commercial flights next month after a five-month break caused by the conflict, reported Al Ittihad, the Arabic-language sister paper of The National.

Donations can also be sent to campaign accounts at Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, Sharjah Islamic Bank, by text message, the ERC website and social media accounts.