MBRGI pledges Dh60.6 million in support of the forcibly displaced

Dubai: The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI) has pledged Dh60.6 million over the next year, in support of forcibly displaced persons.

The funds will be offered in the form of direct food aid as well as sustainable livelihood programmes in several countries around the world.

The announcement came during the Global Refugee Forum, held in Geneva, Switzerland from December 12 to 15, and co-hosted by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency and the Government of Switzerland, in which MBRGI was a participant.

Of the MBRGI pledge, around Dh37 million will fund UNHCR’s humanitarian relief projects and sustainable development interventions in 8 countries, namely Armenia, Bangladesh, Botswana, India, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Tunisia, in addition to Dh5.5 million that will facilitate UNHCR’s support and relief projects for Sudanese refugees in Chad, with a focus on addressing healthcare, water, and sanitation needs in refugee camps.

A further allocation of over Dh18 million will be directed to the World Food Program (WFP) to address urgent needs in the Gaza Strip.

Deep Commitment

Mohammad Al Gergawi, Secretary General of MBRGI, said: “MBRGI continues to implement humanitarian aid and relief campaigns to support vulnerable and forcibly displaced populations around the world, in line with the visions and directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to alleviate the suffering of those in need, and empower them to face the challenging conditions whether in their home countries or in host countries.”

He added: “MBRGI’s pledge of Dh60.6 million in support of UNHCR’s and WFP’s projects over the next year reflects its deep commitment to harness all capabilities and expertise in the area of humanitarian aid and relief in support of the UN efforts to provide the urgent needs of forcibly displaced persons, including food, medical care and shelter.”

Sustainable Support

Saeed Al Eter, Assistant Secretary General at MBRGI said: “Since its launch in 2015, MBRGI has endeavoured to provide humanitarian aid and relief to underprivileged populations, which is evident in all its humanitarian and charity initiatives, and projects across all pillars. Beneficiaries of MBRGI’s Humanitarian Aid projects amounted to 150.8 million people worldwide.

“Today more than ever, the world needs to come together in helping forcibly displaced persons, whose numbers soared to 114 million people worldwide. These unprecedented numbers necessitate that international organisations adopt a new approach to address this challenge. This calls for an elevated level of cooperation among governments and humanitarian bodies to share expertise, finance projects to provide food, shelter, education and medical care,” Al Eter added.

He noted that the new pledge of Dh60.6 million by MBRGI in support of UNHCR is “an extension of a long-standing and fruitful partnership”, as they signed several agreements that helped provide direct food aid to refugees, asylum seekers, and internally displaced people in several countries.

Supporting the Most Vulnerable

Khaled Khalifa, Senior Advisor to the High Commissioner and UNHCR Representative to the GCC lauded MBRGI’s pledge of Dh60.6 million over the next year to support forcibly displaced populations.

“To address the challenges refugees are facing, we need to work together. Millions of refugees live on the front lines of climate change and flee due to compounding conflict and scarce resources, including food. Lots of forcibly displaced families struggle to secure the next meal for their families. Therefore, we highly appreciate MBRGI’s pledge, which will strengthen our ability to assist those in need either by directly providing them with food aid, or by helping them learn how to grow their crops through sustainable livelihood projects,” he stated.

Global Refugee Forum

The Global Refugee Forum is the world’s largest international gathering on refugee issues, bringing together UN Member States with relevant stakeholders, international and local organisations, civil society, financial institutions, academia and the private sector. The second GRF convenes in Geneva from 13 to 15 December 2023, providing an opportunity to build on and highlight the progress made by Governments and other stakeholders towards the implementation of pledges and initiatives announced at the first GRF in 2019. It also offers a platform for participants to announce new pledges and share learning to inform and inspire further responsibility-sharing and facilitate comprehensive responses.