Somalia commends UAE support for aid to drought-affected

The President of Somalia’s Special Envoy for Humanitarian Affairs and Drought, Abd al-Rahman Abd al-Shakur, commended the UAE’s support, led by President His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to provide assistance to those affected by the drought in Somalia, and explained that Emirati supplies have flowed to affected areas in various Somali states since the crisis began, particularly to the areas hardest hit by the drought.

“The UAE has been a pioneer in providing the necessary support to Somalia during this crisis, and they were the first country to respond to the Somali government’s appeal for urgent assistance to those affected by the drought in Somalia,” said Abdul Shakour , in a statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM) in Cairo. It set up an airlift to transport relief supplies and dispatched a ship carrying more than 1,000 tons of various food and relief supplies to meet the needs of about 2.5 million people.

This came on the sidelines of the conference, held at the headquarters of the League of Arab States General Secretariat and co-sponsored by the League of Arab States and the United Nations.

For his part, Somalia’s Ambassador to Egypt and Permanent Representative to the League of Arab States Elias Sheikh Omar Abu Bakr commended the UAE’s efforts to provide aid and assistance to those affected around the world, particularly the supplies they were rushing to make via Somalia to provide its relief and humanitarian facilities.

And he stressed that it was no stranger to the sons of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God rest his soul, whose white hands reached out to all parts of the world, suggesting that they offered a helping hand and to those affected Eager to provide Sending all forms of food and medical supplies has been an established value of the state since its inception.

He thanked the UAE leadership and people for these deliveries and prayed to God to continue the blessings of security, progress and prosperity in the UAE.

The meeting was attended by the country’s Ambassador to Egypt and Permanent Representative to the League of Arab States, Maryam Al-Kaabi.

The meeting was attended by representatives of Arab aid organizations and United Nations organizations and bodies involved in relief and humanitarian work to coordinate their work plans and movements to address the deteriorating food situation in Somalia, as well as the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States , Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Abdul Rahman Abdel Shakour, and 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 reiterated the UAE’s support for Somalia in overcoming the humanitarian crisis it is going through, as the country, in cooperation with the Somali Civil Protection Agency, has been distributing relief supplies to the Somali population in the am areas hardest hit by drought, to help meet the essential needs of some 2.5 million people affected by the drought, noting that the UAE has committed more than 629 million dirhams in support of Somalia since 2017, which is one of the most drought-affected countries in the Horn of Africa.

For his part, Aboul Gheit reiterated that the League’s call for a meeting stems from the deep concern of the Arab world and the international community at the plight of the fraternal Somali people in the face of the drought crisis, which is the worst of its kind. as a result of the lack of rain for five consecutive seasons, affecting about eight million people, ie half of the population, most of them children, suffering from acute malnutrition and danger of death.

He said: “These people urgently need more support to face the drought heralding an unprecedented, tragic famine that will not only be a repeat of the famine of 2011 but could be far worse if we don’t do it as required act.”

He noted that statistics show that the number of people living in pre-famine or famine-like conditions in Somalia has increased five-fold since the beginning of the year, warning of the risk of ongoing internal displacement and the close conflict Resources that threaten the peace and social and political security in the country of Somalia in a very serious way.

Abdul Shakour called on the Arab countries and United Nations organizations and bodies dealing with emergency relief and humanitarian work to act quickly and intervene urgently to help the Somali people because of the worsening catastrophic situation in Somalia as a result of drought and food shortages to provide assistance. which heralds a great humanitarian catastrophe.

• The UAE set up an airlift to transport aid and sent a ship carrying more than 1,000 tons of food and aid to Somalia.

• Aboul Gheit reiterated that the League’s invitation to the meeting stems from deep Arab and international concerns about the plight of the Somali people.