Emirates News Agency – UAE sends aid to drought-affected people in Somalia

MOGADISHU, 13th March, 2023 (WAM) — The UAE Embassy in Mogadishu has handed over aid provided by the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation to the Somali government .

Witnessed by Saif Ali Al Rashash, Chargé d’Affaires ad interim of the UAE Embassy, ​​a total of 193 tons of relief supplies were delivered to the port of Mogadishu; Mohammad Moalim, Chairman of the Somali Disaster Management Agency; Deputy Mayor of Mogadishu in charge of social affairs Abdulaziz Othman, and member of the Somali National Drought Relief Committee.

Aid will be distributed to vulnerable families and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the capital, Mogadishu, with a focus on IDP camps in surrounding areas.

The delivery is part of the efforts of the UAE’s humanitarian and charitable entities to provide relief to those affected by the severe drought in Somalia, as directed by President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Several ships carrying food for Somalia have arrived at the ports of Mogadishu and Kismayo (Jubaland region), Bosaso (Puntland region) and Berbera (Somaliland region).

Somali officials who participated in the handover ceremony thanked the UAE government and people for their continued support to the Somali people in coping with drought and water scarcity by providing relief.

The UAE has supported Somalia since the beginning of the current humanitarian crisis, triggered by a drought caused by insufficient rainfall over the past four years. Another aid ship from the Emirates Red Crescent is expected to arrive with thousands of tons of aid as the UAE continues to deliver aid to people in the affected areas.