The United Arab Emirates announced on Monday that till date it has extended assistance and support to over 1 million medical workers and health professionals across the world. In the extensive humanitarian work by the country it has supplied more than 1000 tonnes of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), medical and food aid to the medical workers working in various nations fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

Reem bint Ibrahim Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation said, “Since its very founding, the UAE has pursued bonds of friendly cooperation and solidarity with other countries, believing that nations must set aside their differences in favor of unity and the greater good of humankind. Today’s milestone of assisting 1 million healthcare workers affirms the UAE’s commitment to extending a hand of cooperation to the world, regardless of the religion, race, or ideology of recipients.”

Al Hashimy further added that the clear vision of the President of UAE H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum – Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan – the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces was not deviated when the world was hit by COVID-19 pandemic.

“If anything, they doubled down on helping all those in need with what we can as we also manage our own challenges. With these values, respect for our common humanity, and desire to help those in need, the UAE further reasserts the vision of His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Founding Father of the UAE, who believed in the collective responsibility of helping his fellow men”, Al Hashimy further added.

In continuous humanitarian work since the beginning of Covid-19 pandemic, UAE has led the world in humanitarian efforts to help the countries in their fight against the virus. UAE has ensured that no geographical boundary or differences of race or religion come in the way of its providing assistance. UAE has provided aid to 70 countries that include Chine, Italy, Iran, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, Russia, Brazil, Afghanistan and Yemen.

UAE has also collaborated with many international organizations to boost the reach of Covid-19 aid and its effectiveness. The country’s Covid-19 response is being driven by Dubai’s International Humanitarian City (DIHC), the world’s largest humanitarian hub. Approximately 80% of the World Health Organization’s procured medical aid and supplies are being transited from this hub. DIHC is being utilized as a critical assistance platform due to excellent geographical location of the country with top-notch logistics infrastructure.

In collaboration with the UN World Food Programme (WFP), the UAE launched an international air bridge operation on May 4. The prime objective of this project is to provide a critical lifeline of humanitarian and essential health supplies to various countries who are struggling with Covid-19.

On May 4, UAE also participated in a global pledging conference that was hosted by European Leaders. The conference was held to raise 7.5 billion pounds to research, manufacture and distribute a COVID-19 vaccine.

In UAE’s continuous global efforts and cooperation at scientific platform, the country has shared its researchers’ study of genomic sequencing and mutation data with various global databases. This includes Nextrain, which is an open source COVID-19 genome database.

UAE is determined to continue its humanitarian efforts and collaborating with other countries and international organizations to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.