The state participates in the "university" meeting to support relief efforts

Somalia praises the UAE's support for the relief of those affected by the drought

Somalia appreciated the UAE's efforts to provide relief and support to those affected worldwide.

From the source

The Special Envoy of the President of Somalia for Humanitarian Affairs and Drought, Abd al-Rahman Abd al-Shakur, praised the support provided by the UAE, led by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, to provide relief to those affected by the droughts sweeping Somalia, explaining that Emirati supplies have flowed since the beginning of the crisis to the stricken areas in Various Somali states, especially the areas most affected by drought.

“The UAE was a pioneer in providing the necessary support to Somalia in this crisis, and it was the first country to respond to the appeal launched by the Somali government to provide urgent relief to those affected by the drought in Somalia,” Abdul Shakour said, in a statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM) in Cairo. It established an air bridge to transport supplies, and sent a ship carrying more than 1,000 tons of various food and relief items to provide the needs of about 2.5 million people.

This came on the sidelines of the conference, which was held at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States, and jointly sponsored by the League of Arab States and the United Nations. worsening food shortages in Somalia.

In turn, the Ambassador of Somalia to Egypt and Permanent Representative to the League of Arab States, Elias Sheikh Omar Abu Bakr, appreciated the efforts of the UAE to provide relief and support to those affected in the world, especially the supplies that it hastened to provide to Somalia through its relief and humanitarian institutions.

And he stressed that it is not strange for the sons of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul, whose white hands extended to all parts of the world, indicating that providing a helping hand to those affected, and keenness to send all forms of food and medical supplies are among the established values ​​of the state since its founding.

He thanked the leadership and people of the UAE for these supplies, praying to God to perpetuate the blessing of security, safety, progress and prosperity on the UAE.

The country's ambassador to Egypt and permanent representative to the League of Arab States, Maryam Al-Kaabi, participated in the meeting.

The meeting was attended by representatives of Arab relief organizations and United Nations organizations and bodies concerned with relief and humanitarian work to coordinate their action plans and movements to address the worsening food situation in Somalia, and the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Abdul Rahman Abdel Shakour, and the Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Somalia - Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator For Somalia, Adam Abdulmawla.

In her speech during the opening session, the UAE ambassador affirmed the UAE's support for Somalia to overcome the humanitarian crisis it is going through, as the country, in cooperation with the Somali Disaster Management Authority, since last September, has distributed relief supplies to the population in the areas most affected by the drought, to contribute to providing the necessary needs for about 2.5 million people have been affected by drought, noting that since 2017, the UAE has provided more than 629 million dirhams to support Somalia, which is one of the countries in the Horn of Africa most affected by drought.

For his part, Aboul Gheit affirmed that the League's call for a meeting stems from the deep concern of the Arab world and the international community about the plight of the brotherly Somali people in light of the drought crisis, which is the worst of its kind, resulting from the lack of rain for five consecutive seasons, which affected about eight million people, i.e. Equivalent to half of the population, most of them are children who suffer from acute malnutrition and the risk of death.

He said, "They are in dire need of more support to confront the drought, which heralds an unprecedented, tragic famine, which will not only be a repeat of the famine that occurred in 2011, but it may be much worse if we do not act as required."

He pointed out that the statistics indicate that the number of people living in pre-famine or famine-like conditions in Somalia has increased by five times since the beginning of the year, warning of the danger of the ongoing internal displacement and the conflict over scarce resources, which threatens peace and social and political security in the country. Somalia in a very serious way.

Abdul Shakur called on Arab countries and United Nations organizations and bodies concerned with relief and humanitarian work to move quickly and intervene urgently to provide relief to the Somali people due to the worsening catastrophic situation in Somalia as a result of the drought and food shortage crises, which heralds a major humanitarian catastrophe.

• The UAE established an air bridge to transport supplies, and sent a ship carrying more than 1,000 tons of food and relief items to Somalia.

• Aboul Gheit affirmed that the league's invitation to the meeting stems from deep Arab and international concern about the plight of the Somali people.

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