UAE spent Dh2.6 billion on international aid

Pakistanis, Syrians and Yemenis have been among the biggest beneficiaries of the UAE’s Dh2.6 billion in assistance given to displaced and homeless refugees worldwide in the past five years.

UAE Red Crescent members at the UAE-funded Mrajeeb Al Fhood refugee camp, 20 kilometres east of Zarqa in Jordan. Muhammad Hamed / Reuters

DUBAI // The UAE has given Dh2.6 billion to the world’s refugees in the past five years, with Pakistanis, Syrians and Yemenis its biggest beneficiaries.

In a report released to mark World Refugee Day on Friday, the Ministry of International Cooperation and Development said on Thursday that the UAE had given billions of dirhams to 71 countries since 2012.

The aid was disbursed under the directives of the President, Sheikh Khalifa, and in line with the UAE’s mandate to empathise with refugees around the world.

The ministry said that close to half of the amount, Dh1.29bn, came from the Government, while the Emirates Red Crescent gave Dh562 million. Other UAE agencies have also contributed generously.

“The UAE has became a major and effective donor country in the international humanitarian arena and empathises with refugees and homeless people,” said Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of International Cooperation and Development and head of the Committee for the Coordination of Foreign Humanitarian Aid.

“[It is] extending a hand of generosity through its humanitarian and donor organisations to provide decent and safe livelihoods.”

The ministry said Pakistani refugees had benefited the most in the past five years, with Dh646.7m in aid helping people displaced by earthquakes and floods.

Internally displaced Syrians and those who fled the country because of the civil war received Dh502.3m in aid.

Yemen, which hosts a large number of displaced people from neighbouring countries, received Dh312.8m of aid.

Assistance has mainly been in food, water, sanitation, shelter, demining, coordination and healthcare and support services.

Dh933.5m was spent on coordination and support, with Dh572.4m for shelter and non-food items. Dh450.8m went towards food.

The ministry said about Dh138.2m paid for health services and another Dh42.6m on water and sanitation.

Several UAE agencies have also increased their spending. The Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation was the third largest donor after the Red Crescent, with Dh368m.

International Humanitarian City followed with Dh143.2m, and the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Establishment with Dh52.5m.

The country has also played host to a small group of refugees.

Seven Tamil refugees, including two women and a child, have been living in Jebel Ali Port since October 2012. The Sri Lankans are part of a group of 45 Tamils whose boat ran into trouble after they sailed from India to seek asylum in Australia.

They were rescued and taken to Jebel Ali by a Singaporean ship. While most of them have been resettled in different countries, the seven continue to wait for the UN refugee agency to find new homes for them.

“We are working very hard to resettle them,” said a spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva.

But he said no time frame could be set and they were working with different countries to find a solution.