UNHCR gets UAE aid for Syrian refugees in Jordan

ABU DHABI: The United Arab Emirates has granted AED 18.4 million (US$5 million) to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to help refugees in Al Zaatari and Al Azraq Refugee Camps in Jordan.
The UAE will also grant the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) AED 25.7 million (US$7 million) to provide feeding and health care programs for children below five years of age, pregnant and breastfeeding women inside Syria.
During a signing ceremony, Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, head of the National Committee for the Coordination of Foreign Aid, said the amount for the UNHCR is part of the second commitment announced by the UAE during the Kuwait Second International Pledging Conference for Syria earlier this year.
The overall pledge was 220 million dirhams(about US$60 million).
"Directives from the UAE's wise leadership were issued to allocate the whole amount for the Syrian refugees to alleviate the suffering of our brotherly Syrians and as a response to the Syrian Humanitarian Assistance Response Plan (SHARP) for the benefit of people inside Syria and the UN Syria Regional Response Plan for Syrian refugees in the neighboring countries through the UN organizations and humanitarian programs," she explained.
Under the two agreements signed with the UNHCR, the UAE will provide AED 7.3 million for the improvement of health care services in both Al Zaatari and Al Azraq Syrian refugee camps. Another AED 11 million will be spent on the provision of water supplies and sanitation in Al Zaatari Camp.
According to the third agreement with the UNICEF, the UAE will provide AED 15.7 million to feed children less than 5 years of age as well as pregnant and breast feeding women inside Syria.
She said that around 115,000 victims will benefit from the UAE's new assistance, including 58,000 children and 30,000 women.
The three agreements were signed by Hazza Mohamed Al Qahtani, undersecretary at the Ministry of International Cooperation and Development, Rida Omran, UNHCR regional representative to the GCC, and Dr. Ibrahim El-Ziq, UNICEF Gulf Area Representative.
"As the Syrian crisis continues without any solution in the horizon, we have to continue to do everything we can do. Signing these two agreements with MICAD today and the generous assistance given by the UAE represent a constructive cooperative approach by our partners to ensure maximum effect and difference. The UNHCR highly appreciates the existing partnership with the UAE and MICAD in particular,” Rida Omran said.
UNICEF’s El-ZIg said reports coming from Syrian doctors and from neighboring countries show an increase in the number of children suffering from acute malnutrition and seeking treatment. This, he said, is a great source of concern as malnutrition is the reason behind so many cases of child mortality.
Meanwhile, the UAE's Human Appeal International, HAI, has distributed Zakat funds to 90 families, clothed 40 underprivileged children, handed out more than 400 gifts to orphans, and 200 food baskets to disadvantaged families in the Areeha province in the West Bank, as part of the organization's multiple humanitarian initiatives this Ramadan.