UAE To Celebrate 'International Day Of Charity'
The UAE will celebrate the annual ''International Day of Charity'' on 5th September, 2019, and has promoted charity work and transformed it into a culture and social behaviour.
This year's celebration coincides with the ''Year of Tolerance'', which has witnessed the launch of several humanitarian and charitable initiatives, such as the ''UAE Campaign for Rohingya Children and Women."
The UAE has prioritised philanthropy as a social value based on giving, has been named the world's largest donor of development assistance in proportion to its gross national income,GNI, for the fifth year running, according to the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development,OECD.
The UAE exceeded the UN target of 0.7 per cent official development assistance in proportion to its GNI ratio by donating AED19.32 billion, a growth of 18.1 per cent over 2016, representing 1.31 per cent of its GNI for official development assistance in 2017. The UAE's aid has only humanitarian objectives. It is neither governed by politics nor is not limited by geography, race, colour or religion of the beneficiary. This is a practical application of the principle of tolerance in the UAE.
Non-governmental organisations and charities are keys to the success of official humanitarian work, which is proven by the donation campaigns and humanitarian initiatives launched by the UAE’s leadership to help vulnerable people around the world.
At least 45 donors, humanitarian organisations and charities from the UAE are helping those in need, and the Emirates Red Crescent, ERC, is one of these humanitarian actors, which is proud of its partnerships with Emirati benefactors, philanthropists, citizens and residents.
So far this year, the number of beneficiaries of the ERC’s local programmes costing AED94 million amounted to around 562,589 people coming from different nationalities.
The ERC sponsors more than 114,000 orphans in the UAE and 25 other countries while its Ramadan programmes and projects have benefitted over 11 million people in 80 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.
Since its inception in 1992, the Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation has provided assistance to over 166 countries valued at nearly AED2 billion while the Khalifa Humanitarian Foundation, KF, has strengthened the UAE's regional and international humanitarian stature, by providing assistance to over 90 countries in 2018.
The Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives',MBRGI, Humanitarian Aid & Relief programmes reached over 11.9 million people across the world in 2018, with AED271 million worth of projects and initiatives. The Humanitarian Aid & Relief is one of the five pillars classified under the umbrella of MBRGI, besides Spreading Education & Knowledge, Healthcare & Disease Control, Innovation & Entrepreneurship and Empowering Communities.
On this International Day of Charity, the United Nations invites all Member States and all international and regional organizations, as well as civil society, including non-governmental organizations and individuals, to commemorate the Day in an appropriate manner, by encouraging charity, including through education and public awareness-raising activities.
