Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Minister of International Cooperation and Development, MICAD, Head of the UAE Committee for the Coordination of Humanitarian Foreign Aid, has said that the value of foreign aid provided by the UAE to combat polio during the past two years has exceeded AED110 million.

In a speech delivered on the occasion of World Polio Day, which was marked on October 24th, Al Qasimi noted the generous support provided by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, with the amount of US$120 million, or the equivalent of AED440 million, to boost global efforts to eradicate polio by 2018.

Al Qasimi said that the UAE has made concerted efforts to address the challenges and fight diseases facing the world, namely polio, in collaboration with many partners and institutions that are active regionally and internationally.

She said that the UAE’s efforts were not limited to the provision of financial support to fight polio, but have contributed to the vaccination campaigns to reach the beneficiaries in remote villages and towns, especially in countries such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, and several African nations.

The Minister commended the generous financial, medical, and logistical support provided by state institutions, in line with the directives of the UAE’s wise leadership, which has always provided support to the needy without discrimination, as part of its ongoing commitment to contribute to the development of the global human community in accordance with the philosophy of the founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

The size of aid for polio vaccines provided by the UAE to countries such as Pakistan in 2014 exceeded AED59 million. The aid was delivered in collaboration with several institutions such as the UAE Pakistan Assistance Programme, UAEPAP, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The value of UAE aid to polio eradication programmes organised by the World Health Organisation in Africa exceeded AED51 million.

Source: WAM