Kuwait continues to ‘overcome’ challenges facing vital relief aid
‘Kuwait always ready to help disaster victims worldwide’
KUWAIT CITY, Oct 13, (KUNA): Kuwait continued to provide vital humanitarian aid for refugees and people in need in the region in the past few days through support to various institutes and societies overcoming challenges facing such important field.
During the past week, the Commissioner-General for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Pierre Krahenbuhl, praised Gulf countries for their contribution to help the UN agency to overcome its financial difficulties following the US cut of financial allocations to UNRWA. “In addition to the EU and its member states, the Gulf countries played a very crucial role in the current positive dynamic. The four major Gulf countries, Qatar Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait have contributed $50 million each.
So we have received pledges of $200 million from Gulf countries for our core activities. This is unprecedented and outstanding,” he told a news conference in Brussels.
Meanwhile, Kuwait’s voluntary team “Shefaa” provided medical care to more than 200 Syrian patients, conducting difficult and delicate surgical procedures during a humanitarian trip to refugee camps in Jordan.
Media coordinator for the 12-member medical team Tareq Al-Mulla told KUNA that the trip lasted for 10 days, during which the doctors conduct necessary tests and operations for refugees in agreement with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), charities and Jordanian hospitals.
He pointed out that the surgical intervention included removal of benign and malignant tumors from brains of a number of patients, with the help of Jordanian doctors.
Disasters
Meantime, Kuwait has always rushed to help people facing natural disasters around the globe, the Gulf country’s top fireman said Friday, citing UN selection of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah as Humanitarian Leader as testament to relentless philanthropy.
General Khaled Al-Mekrad, Director General of Kuwait fire Services Directorate (KFSD), said crisis management and disaster risk reduction were part of the humanitarian action.
Al-Mekrad, addressing the ArabAfrican forum for Disaster Risk Reduction, said His Highness the Amir of Kuwait has been leading the country’s humanitarian efforts which helped alleviate suffering of many people falling victims to disasters around the world.
He said Kuwait has been cooperating with the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) since January 2017 to establish a national liaison office.
This cooperation was within the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, or Sendai Framework, which is the first major agreement of the 2015-30 Sustainable Development Agenda.
Kuwait, added Al-Mekrad, increased national awareness about Sendai Framework through organizing workshops with UNISDR.
Al-Mekrad held talks with UN officials to discuss the implementation of Sendai Framework, which has seven global targets and four priorities in action.
The priorities are: understanding disaster risk, strengthening disaster risk governance to manage disaster risk, investing in disaster risk reduction for resilience and enhancing disaster preparedness for effective response and to improve recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction.