UAE gives Dh173 billion in aid since its formation, study reveals

The Ministry of International Cooperation and Development releases report to coincide with the country's 44th National Day.

ABU DHABI // The UAE has provided Dh173 billion in foreign aid since the country’s formation in 1971.

The Ministry of International Cooperation and Development (Micad) said the aid went to 178 countries and geographical areas between 1971 and last year.

In a report coinciding with the 44th National Day, the ministry said that about Dh129bn, or 74 per cent, of the aid was given by Government institutions; Dh30.5bn from the Abu Dhabi Development Fund; Dh5.7bn from Emirates Red Crescent; and Dh2.9bn from Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation.

The UAE topped the list of the world’s biggest development and humanitarian donor countries in 2013 and last year compared to national income.

The largest recipient of the UAE’s foreign aid, by continent, was Asia, with Dh79.4bn, followed by Africa with Dh75.4bn used in development projects such as the construction of housing complexes, roads and bridges and power generation, state news agency Wam reported.

The Micad report shows that the largest part of aid was concentrated in the “government and civil society” sector (Dh80.6bn), followed by the “public programmes support” sector, with Dh22.5bn. Humanitarian and relief aid in emergency situations accounted for about Dh7.7bn.

The country supported children to the tune of about Dh2bn, with a focus on development in sectors such as infrastructure, health, education and relief programmes.

The UAE is the largest donor to Yemen as it continues to play a pivotal role in responding to the crisi in the country.

UAE donations to Yemen are also central to the promotion of humanitarian and civil development, the report notes, citing data from the UN Financial Tracking Service.

The UAE aid to Yemen from 1971 to this year amounts to Dh6.65bn, with Dh1.3bn of that total given in just the first nine months of last year.

The UAE was also quick to come to the aid of Syrians when its crisis started in 2011.

To date, Dh2.14 billion has been given to help the 1.5 million people displaced both in Syria and in neighbouring countries Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Turkey, Egypt.

The UAE coordinates its aid for Syria with international organisations including the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha), the World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Higher Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), and the International Rescue Committee (IRC).

Since the start of the Syrian civil war, about 100,000 visas have been granted for Syrians and about 242,000 Syrians currently call the UAE home.

In Palestine, the UAE is committed to the reconstruction of Gaza, with Dh736 million pledged last year to be distributed over three years until 2017.

Egypt has benefited greatly from UAE aid, with the total value of aid between 1971 and 2014 in all humanitarian and development areas at Dh47.3bn.

Micad’s report also shows that the UAE Project to Assist Pakistan implemented development and humanitarian projects worth US$320 million (Dh1.17bn) to address the effects of the devastating floods that struck the country in 2010.

And the President, Sheikh Khalifa, has also embarked on a project in Pakistan to vaccinate millions of children.

So far 86 million polio vaccinations have been administered to children there.

In addition, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, launched an initiative to provide $120m in support of the global effort to eradicate polio by 2018, with a focus on Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed also launched a campaign to vaccinate 20,000 Pakistani children against measles and polio in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where measles is the most widespread disease among children, according to Unicef. More than two million cases of measles occur in Pakistan each year, resulting in the death of about 21,000 children.