UAE continues efforts to save Sudan from flood disaster

Nora Bandari

The UAE continues its humanitarian efforts to help the rest of the world face their health and economic crises, as well as natural disasters. Within this framework, the UAE was one of the first countries that stood by Sudan to save it from the floods, through the UAE humanitarian aid program led by the Emirates Red Crescent Authority, seeking to ward off the effects of the floods in a number of Sudanese states.

Emirati support

On September 12, Abu Dhabi sent a second Emirati aid plane to the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, with the aim of relieving those affected by the floods in Sudan. This plane contained large quantities of medicines, medical supplies, food, and shelter, according to the Emirates News Agency (WAM).

For his part, Emirates Red Crescent Authority Secretary-General Mohammed Ateeq Al Falahi noted that the Emirati aid to Sudan comes within the framework of the directions of the UAE leadership and people to help the Sudanese people and save them from the threat of floods, as well as to alleviate the suffering of the Sudanese and enhance their ability to overcome this disaster. He stressed that the UAE is using all means to help Sudan overcome the repercussions of this disaster and to reduce the health, environmental and psychological effects of floods in the country, especially since the floods spread to about 16 Sudanese states.

The Emirates Red Crescent sent a delegation to the most affected areas in Sudan in order to find out what is needed to save the Sudanese and provide all means of support and assistance to them in order to improve their living conditions. The Emirati authority announced that it would later provide those affected by these floods with more basic needs, including health, food, shelter and children’s necessities.

UAE Ambassador to Sudan Hamad Mohammed Al-Junaibi declared that the humanitarian and development support provided by the UAE to Sudan is not new, but has been continuous for decades, adding to that it is not related to a specific disaster or crisis. He stressed that the UAE is one of the first countries to respond to the current disaster in Sudan through its humanitarian arm represented by the Emirates Red Crescent and other Emirati associations.

Not the first time

This is not the first time that the UAE has supported Sudan to cope with the effects of floods. In August 2016, the Emirati Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation for Humanitarian Work provided assistance to those affected by floods in Sudan at that time under the directives of the UAE government. This aid included food, tents and pesticides, according to WAM.

On August 12, 2008, the UAE also followed the same approach and immediately provided a relief aid plane to help those affected and displaced by floods that swept across the Blue Nile regions in Sudan. The plane contained 40 tons of various shelter supplies, including tents and blankets, along with medical aid and large quantities of the basic foodstuffs that were transported to Sudan through cooperation between the Sudanese and Emirati Red Crescent authorities.

Sudanese people reacted on social media to the aid provided by the UAE, pointing out that the UAE has always been a pioneer in doing good works, as it is one of the countries always supporting the Sudanese people in times of distress.

Corona

As part of the UAE’s efforts to help Sudan, the UAE had also sent three shipments of medical aid to confront the corona pandemic in Sudan, the last of which was sent in May. Abu Dhabi sent an aid plane containing 11 tons of medical supplies to Sudan to help limit the spread of the corona virus and help healthcare workers in Sudan.

The UAE sent the first and second shipments to Sudan in late April and early May, bringing the amount of aid provided by the UAE to Sudan to 136 tons of medicines and medical supplies, in addition to the support provided by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development to support the health sector in Sudan, which amounted to 75 million dirhamsi ($20 million), as part of the $1.5 billion aid previously approved by the UAE in April 2019 to contribute to supporting economic and financial stability in Sudan.