UAE begins emergency aid work in Hodeidah

abu dhabi — The Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) has commenced emergency aid operations via air and sea relief bridges for Hodeidah, Yemen.

The move follows the directives of the UAE leadership and is in line with the framework of the UAE foreign aid policy and emergency humanitarian aid response to the Yemeni people.

In a statement, Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed, Chairman of the ERC, reiterated the UAE’s commitment to its humanitarian responsibilities towards its brothers in Yemen, as per the directives of the UAE leadership.

Sheikh Hamdan highlighted that the UAE leadership’s directives to establish an emergency relief bridge to Hodeidah will provide necessary humanitarian and food assistance to the governorate’s liberated areas.

The ERC emergency relief bridge consists of 10 UAE vessels carrying 13,500 tonnes of foodstuffs, as well as an emergency aid airlift that includes three flights carrying 10,436 food parcels.

The first aid ship will transport 500 tonnes of rice and flour, while the second ship will deliver 1,000 tonnes of various foodstuffs. Four other vessels will provide 3,000 tonnes of foodstuffs each.

An ERC aid ship carrying 10,000 tonnes of wheat is expected to arrive on June 22, providing essential food aid for 888,000 individuals across a span of two weeks, including 480,000 children and 160,000 women.

The aid ships are heading towards Hodeida, where the port remains open and operational.

Additional ships have been cleared to arrive at the port in the coming days.

An aid ship carrying 65,000 food parcels arrived in Yemen on June10, benefiting 455,000 Yemenis, including 273,000 children and 91,000 women.

The UAE aid authority also sent a cargo ship on June 10, which is expected to arrive on Yemen’s shores on June 22, carrying 500 tonnes of food aid — enough to provide for 12,000 people across a two week period. Another aid ship, carrying 1,000 tonnes of food, is scheduled to arrive on June 23.

As for the air bridge, the first and second planes will carry 2,010 food parcels each, while the third will carry a load of 6,416 food parcels.

Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashemy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, recently unveiled a comprehensive aid relief plan drafted by the Arab Coalition to ensure the rapid delivery of humanitarian assistance to Hodeidah and its surrounding areas.

Dr Mohammed Ateeq Al Falahi, ERC secretary-general, said that the aid authority has strategic stocks of relief materials in Yemen, estimated at 40,000 food parcels along with medicinal and medical supplies, as well as food supplements for women and children which will be distributed across liberated areas of Hodeidah.

Dr Al Falahi added that the ERC’s emergency relief operations across Hodeidah would encompass various stages, beginning with the provision of emergency relief operations and delivery of food aid, followed by necessary utilities and infrastructure development projects with the aim to alleviate the hardships faced by Yemenis in the governorate.

UAE aid to Yemen between April 2015 and May 2018 reached Dh13.85 billion. The UAE has also pledged $500 million to support the UN Humanitarian Response Plan for Yemen in 2018, of which so far has committed 93 per cent ($465 million) of the pledged amount. —

3 Planes will deliver 10,436 food parcels 13,500 Tonnes of food stuff will be carried by ships