Latest news with #humanitarianassistance
Emirates 24/7
a day ago
- General
- Emirates 24/7
UAE marks World Humanitarian Day, pledges support for vulnerable
The UAE will commemorate World Humanitarian Day tomorrow, reiterating its pivotal role in providing timely assistance to those affected by crises worldwide. By mid-2024, the country's foreign aid had supported over one billion people, valued at more than AED368 billion. This year's occasion comes as the UAE leads international efforts to aid victims of wars and conflicts, particularly the brotherly Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. According to United Nations reports, Emirati aid accounted for 44 percent of the total international assistance delivered to the Gaza Strip. To date, the UAE has carried out 73 airdrop operations under its "Birds of Goodness" initiative, part of "Operation Chivalrous Knight 3". The total aid airdropped has exceeded 3,988 tonnes, including food and essential supplies. The UAE has also affirmed its unwavering commitment to supporting the brotherly Sudanese people, pledging US$200 million during the High-Level Humanitarian Conference for the People of Sudan held in Addis Ababa on 14th February 2025. This brought the total Emirati humanitarian aid provided to Sudan over the past decade to $3.5 billion. In 2025, the UAE has further enhanced its initiatives to ease the suffering of the Ukrainian people. The UAE Aid Agency signed a cooperation agreement with the Olena Zelenska Foundation to provide additional centres for foster families and orphanages with a contribution of $4.5 million. Until last February, UAE humanitarian aid to Ukraine had benefited more than 1.2 million people, including one million women and children. Mediation efforts undertaken by the UAE between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Ukraine have also resulted in 16 prisoner exchange operations, with a total of 4,349 prisoners exchanged. In terms of natural disaster relief, the UAE provided aid to the Republic of Chad in January 2025, which included 30,000 food baskets and more than 20,000 blankets, to help mitigate the impact of floods in several areas of the country. The UAE also sent 700 tonnes of urgent food supplies to flood-affected areas in Somalia. At the end of March, the UAE dispatched urgent humanitarian aid to the Republic of Myanmar following an earthquake, delivering more than 200 tonnes of food, shelter supplies and medical aid. Later, it sent over 167 metric tonnes of essential relief materials, including plastic tarps and equipment, to support around 80,000 people affected by the disaster. On 11th August, specialised teams from the UAE arrived in the Albanian capital, Tirana, to take part in urgent response operations to extinguish fires raging across several regions. The UAE contributed with aircraft, equipment and firefighting materials. This year has also seen the launch of several humanitarian initiatives with global impact, such as the Fathers' Endowment campaign, part of whose proceeds will go towards providing healthcare and treatment for the underprivileged and supporting health systems in less fortunate communities by developing hospitals and securing medicines. Furthermore, the UAE Aid Agency and the Government of Chad signed an agreement to build the Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Hospital and a dialysis centre in the capital, N'Djamena, aimed at providing advanced health services and therapeutic care for dialysis patients.
CBS News
07-07-2025
- Climate
- CBS News
Brother's Brother Foundation accepting donations for those impacted by deadly Texas floods
Pittsburghers are stepping up to help those impacted by the deadly flash flooding in Texas. As of Monday morning, at least 82 people are dead and at least 41 more are missing after devastating flash floods slammed the Texas Hill Country over the weekend, with water rescues taking place along the Guadalupe River. The Pittsburgh-based Brother's Brother Foundation has pledged $50,000 toward the initial response, and 100% of donations received will be used to support emergency relief and logistics. "Based on needs assessments, our response may also include providing humanitarian assistance such as hygiene kits and blankets for those injured and displaced by the disaster," the foundation said in a provided news release. Medical supplies and equipment for first responders and emergency response facilities will also be donated, as needed. Ways to donate Brother's Brother Foundation will accept credit card donations. Donations can be made on the foundation's website, which can be found by clicking here. Checks should be made payable to Brother's Brother Foundation and sent to the address below. Please note "USA – US Disaster Relief" in the memo field. Brother's Brother Foundation P.O. Box 645934 Pittsburgh, Pa. 15264-5257
Zawya
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Zawya
The Republic of Korea supports food security for vulnerable communities in northern Mozambique
The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomes generous contributions from the Republic of Korea for the second consecutive year, totalling US$ 7.6 million to improve food security for communities affected by multiple shocks in northern Mozambique. The contributions, comprising more than 5,000 metric tonnes of high-quality rice, will enable WFP to deliver life-saving food assistance to over 233,000 vulnerable people in Cabo Delgado Province. The Republic of Korea has been a key partner to WFP in Mozambique, providing critical support at a time marked by protracted internal conflict, recurring climate shocks, and growing funding gaps. During the 2024-2025 cyclone season, northern Mozambique was hit by three cyclones in as many months, affecting more than 1.4 million people — many of whom were already reeling from the effects of the ongoing conflict in Cabo Delgado province. This generous contribution from the Republic of Korea will help prevent a further deterioration in food and nutrition security for the most vulnerable groups in the north. 'This support comes at a crucial time — it's more than a donation, it's a lifeline that helps protect people's dignity and restore hope in a region that has endured far too much,' said Antonella D'Aprile, WFP Country Director in Mozambique.' Thanks to the continued solidarity of the Republic of Korea, we can reach the most fragile communities in Cabo Delgado with food assistance. 'This contribution reflects the strong partnership between the Republic of Korea and Mozambique, and our shared commitment to humanitarian values. In the face of conflict and climate shocks, it is essential to act with urgency and compassion. The ROK will continue to stand by Mozambique on the path to recovery and resilience,' referred Bok Won KANG, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea in Mozambique. The Republic of Korea has been a long-standing partner of WFP in Mozambique. Since 2019, it has contributed more than US$ 16.3 million to support the country's most vulnerable populations with lifesaving assistance and restoration of livelihoods. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Food Programme (WFP).
Khaleej Times
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Khaleej Times
Watch: UAE foreign minister meets US state secretary; discusses Gaza, regional issues
The UAE's foreign minister met with US' Secretary of State Marco Rubio on June 10 at the Department of State where they discussed regional issues. The visit comes sometime after US President Donald Trump's historic visit to the UAE on May 13, amid his Gulf tour that included Saudi Arabia and Qatar as well. This was the first international trip during his second term of presidency. UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan discussed President Trump's visit and the importance of the US-UAE strategic partnership to promote security and prosperity. Watch the video of their meeting here: Rubio thanked Sheikh Abdullah for the UAE's provision of humanitarian assistance in the Gaza Strip and highlighted the imperative of ensuring that Hamas can never rule Gaza or threaten Israel again. They discussed other regional issues, which included the humanitarian crises in Syria and Sudan.
Globe and Mail
16-05-2025
- Health
- Globe and Mail
U.S. aid cuts leave food rations for millions mouldering in storage around the world, sources say
Food rations that could supply 3.5 million people for a month are mouldering in warehouses around the world because of U.S. aid cuts and risk becoming unusable, according to five people familiar with the situation. The food stocks have been stuck inside four U.S. government warehouses since the Trump administration's decision in January to cut global aid programs, according to three people who previously worked at the U.S. Agency for International Development and two sources from other aid organizations. Some stocks that are due to expire as early as July are likely to be destroyed, either by incineration, using them as animal feed or disposing of them in other ways, two of the sources said. The warehouses, which are run by USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance (BHA), contain between 60,000 to 66,000 metric tonnes of food, sourced from American farmers and manufacturers, the five people said. An undated inventory list for the warehouses – which are located in Djibouti, South Africa, Dubai and Houston – stated that they contained more than 66,000 tonnes of commodities, including high-energy biscuits, vegetable oil and fortified grains. Those supplies are valued at over $98-million, according to the document reviewed by Reuters, which was shared by an aid official and verified by a U.S. government source as up to date. That food could feed over a million people for three months, or the entire population of Gaza for a month and a half, according to a Reuters analysis using figures from the World Food Programme, the world's largest humanitarian agency. The UN body says that one tonne of food – typically including cereals, pulses and oil – can meet the daily need of approximately 1,660 people. The dismantling of USAID and cuts to humanitarian aid spending by President Donald Trump come as global hunger levels are rising due to conflict and climate change, which are driving more people toward famine, undoing decades of progress. According to the World Food Programme, 343 million people are facing acute levels of food insecurity worldwide. Of those, 1.9 million people are gripped by catastrophic hunger and on the brink of famine. Most of them are in Gaza and Sudan, but also in pockets of South Sudan, Haiti and Mali. A spokesperson for the State Department, which oversees USAID, said in response to detailed questions about the food stocks that it was working to ensure the uninterrupted continuation of aid programs and their transfer by July as part of the USAID decommissioning process. 'USAID is continuously consulting with partners on where to best distribute commodities at USAID prepositioning warehouses for use in emergency programs ahead of their expiration dates,' the spokesperson said. Although the Trump administration has issued waivers for some humanitarian programmes – including in Gaza and Sudan – the cancellation of contracts and freezing of funds needed to pay suppliers, shippers and contractors has left food stocks stuck in the four warehouses, the sources said. A proposal to hand the stocks to aid organizations that can distribute them is on hold, according to the U.S. source and two former USAID sources briefed on the proposal. The plan is awaiting approval from the State Department's Office of Foreign Assistance, the two former USAID sources said. The office is headed by Jeremy Lewin, a 28-year-old former operative of Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, who is now overseeing the decommissioning of USAID. The Office of Foreign Assistance, DOGE and Lewin himself did not respond to requests for comment. Nearly 500 tonnes of high-energy biscuits stored at a USAID warehouse in Dubai are due to expire in July, according to a former USAID official and an aid official familiar with the inventories. The biscuits could feed at least 27,000 acutely malnourished children for a month, according to Reuters calculations. The biscuits are now likely to be destroyed or turned into animal feed, the former USAID official said, adding that in a typical year only around 20 tonnes of food might be disposed of in this way because of damage in transit or storage. Some of those stocks were previously intended for Gaza and famine-stricken Sudan, the former official said. The State Department spokesperson did not directly respond to questions on how much of the food aid in storage was close to expiry and whether this would be destroyed. USAID plans to fire almost all of its staff in two rounds on July 1 and Sept. 2, as it prepares to shut down, according to a notification submitted to Congress in March. The two former USAID sources said many of the critical staff needed to manage the warehouses or move the supplies will depart in July. The United States is the world's largest humanitarian aid donor, amounting to at least 38 per cent of all contributions recorded by the United Nations. It disbursed $61-billion in foreign assistance last year, just over half of it via USAID, according to government data. U.S. food aid includes ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) such as high-energy biscuits and Plumpy'Nut, a peanut-based paste. Navyn Salem, the founder of Edesia, a U.S.-based manufacturer of Plumpy'Nut, said termination of transportation contracts by USAID had created a massive backlog that had forced the firm to hire an additional warehouse to store its own production. The resulting stockpile of 5,000 tonnes, worth $13-million, could feed more than 484,000 children, she said. Salem said that e-mail exchanges with Lewin have left her 'hopeful' that a way will be found soon to get her product to the desperate children who need it. The UN children's agency UNICEF warned in late March that RUTF stocks were running short in 17 countries due to funding cuts, potentially forcing 2.4 million children suffering from severe acute malnutrition to go without these crucial supplies for the rest of the year. The four USAID warehouses contain the majority of the agency's pre-positioned food stockpiles. In normal times, these could be rapidly deployed to places like Sudan, where 25 million people – half the country's population – face acute hunger. Jeanette Bailey, director of nutrition at the International Rescue Committee, which receives much of its funding from the U.S., said it was scaling back its programmes following the cuts. She said the impact of global shortages of therapeutic foods due to the disruption to U.S. aid flows is difficult to measure, particularly in places where aid programmes no longer operate. 'What we do know, though, is that if a child's in an inpatient stabilization centre and they're no longer able to access treatment, more than 60 per cent of those children are at risk of dying very quickly,' she said. Action Against Hunger, a non-profit that relied on the United States for over 30 per cent of its global budget, said last month the U.S. cuts had already led to the deaths of at least six children at its programmes in the Democratic Republic of Congo, after it was forced to suspend admissions. The Bureau for Humanitarian Affairs, which co-ordinates the U.S. government's aid efforts overseas, was plunged into chaos by the Trump administration's cutbacks, the five sources said. The bureau's staff were among thousands of USAID employees put on administrative leave pending their terminations. While some staff were brought back to work until their severance dates, aid administration has not recovered. Three sources told Reuters that the contract to maintain USAID warehouses in the South African port city of Durban had been cancelled, raising questions about future aid distribution. Reuters was unable to confirm that independently. Two former USAID officials said that the Djibouti and Dubai facilities would be handed over to a team at the State Department which has yet to be formed. The State Department did not comment. A spokesperson for the WFP, which relies heavily on U.S. funding, declined to comment on the stranded food stocks. Asked if it was engaged in discussions to release them, the spokesperson said: 'We greatly appreciate the support from all our donors, including the U.S., and we will continue to work with partners to advocate for the needs of the most vulnerable in urgent need of life-saving assistance'.
