UAE to donate $500,000 to Nadia Murad’s Initiative water project in Iraq

UAE previously pledged $2.5m to first phase of clean water supply project

The project, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad, will deliver clean water supplies to thousands of embattled residents in Iraq. AFP

The UAE said it will donate $500,000 (Dh1.83 million) for the second phase of a development project to provide water and sanitation in the Sinjar district of Iraq.

The project, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Nadia Murad, will deliver clean water supplies to thousands of embattled residents in Iraq.

The funding is an extension of the support the UAE has provided for the project.

In 2019, it pledged $2.5m (Dh9.2m) towards the first phase which provided comprehensive potable water, sanitation and hygiene projects for villages in the Sinjar district.

Sultan Al Shamsi, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation for International Development Affairs, said the Emirates is committed to addressing the needs of communities affected by ISIS attacks.

"The UAE is working to support all stabilisation projects in the areas affected by the attacks of the terrorist organisation Daesh in the Sinjar district of Iraq by providing fundamental services to the most vulnerable groups such as women, children and the elderly from the Yazidi minority,” he said.

“We aim through the second phase of the project to improve water supply and access to sanitation facilities for residents of nine additional villages in Iraq's Sinjar district.

"The signing of the agreement follows the success of the first phase of the project, where clean water and sanitation were successfully provided to six villages in the Sinjar district, for the benefit of more than 81,000 people.”

Ms Murad, who is also a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations, was honoured with the Nobel Peace prize in October 2018, for her work to shine a light on the struggles of people caught up in conflicts across the globe.

She thanked President Sheikh Mohamed for his support and for continuing to provide humanitarian aid and fundamental services in Sinjar.