UAE: First plane carrying flood relief takes off to Pakistan

The first plane carrying urgent aid to victims of the deadly floods in Pakistan took off from Dubai under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

The aircraft took off from Dubai’s International Humanitarian City (IHC) warehouses. The first batch of aid constitutes three plane trips to Karachi carrying 33 tons of humanitarian relief as well as shelter items from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) stockpiles in Dubai aboard C130 military planes.

The aid will benefit 13,600 people directly affected by the floods in Pakistan.

Over the next week, nine additional flight rotations are planned to dispatch further relief items on behalf of IHC partners, including the UN World Food Programme (WFP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). IHC is coordinating humanitarian relief efforts on behalf of partners and stakeholders under the umbrella of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI).

The aid will provide basic medical and health supplies needed to mitigate the spread of diseases caused by stagnant water in flooded areas. It also includes personal hygiene materials and food.

IHC mobilized its task force to respond to the emergency in cooperation with key partners, under the directives of Sheikh Mohammed.

Khaled Khalifa, Senior Advisor to the High Commissioner and UNHCR’s Regional Representative to the GCC, added: “UNHCR, in coordination with the Pakistani National Disaster Management Committee, is providing emergency relief assistance to those affected by the floods in Pakistan. We sincerely thank His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Dubai government, and the UAE for their long-standing support in transporting relief materials from UNHCR global stockpiles in IHC to the affected and most vulnerable people.”

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