UAE President orders aid airlift to Sudan

President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan has ordered an aid airlift to Sudan to deliver core relief items to communities affected by the torrential rains and flash flooding that hit the country recently.

The noble gesture comes to reaffirm the UAE’s determination to extend hand of help to all peoples and countries in need around the world.

The Sudanese capital and other areas in the country have been recently plagued by unprecedented rain that left scores dead and thousands displaced while destroying power grids, houses and inflicting serious damage on public utilities and infrastructure.

The Emirates Red Crescent recently carried out an emergency relief operation to the flood-stricken households in Sudan, providing them with essential shelter material and food rations.

The UAE was the world's largest donor of official development aid in 2017, relative to its national income, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

With a total contribution of AED19.32 billion of developmental aid in 2017, the UAE spent 1.31 percent of its gross national income on foreign developmental aid almost twice the global target of 0.7 percent set by the United Nations.

The donations made in 2017 represent a 23.72 percent increase from the year prior, when the country contributed AED15.57 billion.

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