UAE sends medical aid to Pacific Island countries

ABU DHABI: The UAE on Thursday sent 13 metric tons of medical supplies and testing kits to 14 Pacific Island countries, including: Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Cook Islands, and Niue to assist medical professionals through the provision of personal protective equipment and testing supplies.

Commenting on the delivery, Abdulla Al Subousi, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the UAE to Australia, said, “Today’s aid shipment to Pacific island countries reflects the UAE’S continued efforts to support and stand by these countries to contain the spread of COVID-19 by providing critical medical supplies and protection to strengthen the efforts of healthcare personnel.”

For his part, Matar Al Mansoori, Chargé d’affaires of the UAE Mission in Wellington, said, “The UAE is working diligently to strengthen relations with Pacific island countries and expand them towards broader horizons in all fields.”

“The UAE’S assistance today is part of support for development efforts in Pacific island countries to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic and provide medical supplies to enhance capacity and ensure the adequate protection of medical personnel,” he added.

To date, the UAE has responded to the COVID-19 crisis by providing over 1,277 metric tons of aid to 107 countries, supporting more than 1.2 million medical professionals in the process.

LEBANON AID : Separately, a UAE aid plane has arrived in Lebanon equipped with around 100 tons of medicines, food, and nutritional supplements for children, in addition to other aid supplies to help those affected by the Beirut explosion.

The move follows the directives of H.H. Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak, Chairwoman of the General Women’s Union, President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, Supreme Chairwoman of the Family Development Foundation, and Honorary President of the Emirates Red Crescent, ERC, overseen by H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler’s Representative in Al Dhafra Region, and Chairman of ERC.

This is the fourth aircrat dispatched by the UAE, and the second with the coordination and supervision of the ERC, as part of the UAE’S efforts to reduce the suffering of people affected by the explosion.

The plane also carried an ERC delegation who will be fulfilling various humanitarian work like delivering aid, assessing the situation on the ground, and identifying further humanitarian needs.

Sheikha Fatima has already donated Dhs10 million in the atermath of the explosion in support of the ERC’S relief programmes in Lebanon.