UAE’s aid to Africa amid Covid-19 crisis

The United Arab Emirates has sent various medical aid to all parts of the continent, leaving only a country and providing it with all preventive measures that enable it to address the epidemic of Corona (Covid-19), which is prevalent in all countries of the world, which confirms that Abu Dhabi will remain the protective shield for these countries, Regardless of color, identity, race, or language.

In this context, the UAE sent aid to the countries of the African continent during the month of May 2020, the last of which was on May 25, as it sent an aid plane containing 6 tons of medical supplies to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Central Africa), to support it in curbing the spread of the Corona virus.

The UAE’s ambassador to Rwanda, Hazaa Muhammad Khursan Al-Qahtani, pointed out that providing Abu Dhabi assistance to the Congo indicates a deep partnership with that country, as it constitutes an important part of the tireless work in combating the Corona virus in Africa.

From Central Africa to East Africa, on May 21, it sent an aid plane containing 7 tons of medical supplies to the Republic of Comoros, and on May 5 it sent an aid plane containing medical supplies to Kenya, in addition to sending a plane carrying 33 tons of medical supplies to Ethiopia, in cooperation with the World Health Organization.

On May 20, Abu Dhabi sent an aid plane containing 4 tons of medical supplies to Gambia, and on May 10 it sent an aid plane containing 6 tons of medical supplies to the Republic of Niger, in addition to sending an aid plane containing 6 tons of supplies Medical and examination devices to the Republic of Mali, and another plane with aid containing 7 tons of medical supplies to Sierra Leone.

And to the sisterly Arab countries, on May 20, the UAE sent the third shipment of drug aid and medical supplies to support the health sector in Sudan.

On May 15, the UAE launched a humanitarian aid campaign in the Kingdom of Lesotho, which included a number of families in difficult social situations to alleviate the human suffering they face, within the framework of Emirati support for development projects, to support prosperity and stability in these countries, in addition to sending them in April 2020 An aid plane containing 7 tons of medical supplies to South Africa, to support it in reducing the spread of the Coronavirus.

In addition to the aid that the UAE sent to Somalia, Ghana, and Mauritania during the past months, as this aid included testing equipment, medical equipment and food supplies as well, benefiting all health workers in those countries.

The ambassadors of many of these countries emphasized that the UAE’s approach to providing aid gives priority to meeting the necessary needs and ensuring that it reaches all those who deserve it without discrimination, while the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Gebrysos, praised the humanitarian and relief efforts of the UAE in fighting the Corona virus from Through its continued support to countries in facing this epidemic.

Over the past five years, the UAE has maintained its position as one of the largest donors of official development assistance in the world, and in 2018 the value of Emirati aid received by the least developed countries of Africa reached $ 15 billion, according to the UAE newspaper Al-Ittihad in April 2019.

To date, the UAE has responded to the COVID-19 crisis by providing over 658 metric tons of aid to 57 countries in need, supporting more than 658,000 medical professionals in the process.