Mohammed bin Rashid Global Initiatives pledges Dh37 million to Gaza health sector

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Mohammed bin Rashid Maktoum Global Initiatives has pledged Dh37 million ($10 million) to support Gaza's health sector.

The funds will be used to supply basic medical supplies to Palestinians, especially children, living in the Gaza Strip amid the war between Hamas and Israel.

The pledge was made in collaboration with the World Health Organisation at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday, state news agency Wam reported.

An agreement was signed between Mohammed Al Gergawi, and secretary general of the MBRGI, and Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO.

Mr Al Gergawi, who is also Minister of Cabinet Affairs, said the pledge was intended to support Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and meet their basic needs as the war rages on.

He also said the financial contribution embodies the UAE's firm approach towards providing humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the besieged enclave.

The funds will support hospitals in the Gaza Strip, provide emergency medical supplies, logistical support, psychological and social support, and prevent and control infections.

It will also be used to ensure life-saving medical supplies, equipment and fuel needed to operate health facilities are delivered to those most in need.

MBRGI also announced a Dh30 million contribution to the UN children's fund Unicef on Wednesday.

Saeed Al Eter, assistant secretary general of the MBRGI, said the donation will go towards the Child Nutrition Fund, which aims to improve living conditions and provide food to 270,000 women and children globally over the next three years, and to raise awareness of child malnutrition around the world.

What's more, the Emirates Red Crescent has continued distributing food parcels, tents and winter clothing in the Gaza Strip.

This initiative is part of the Gallant Knight 3 humanitarian operation launched by the UAE, which has seen charity kitchens open across Rafah, Khan Younis, and Deir Al Balah, providing meals to over 100,000 displaced people.

On Tuesday, the MBRGI announced Dh43 million in direct food aid for Gaza, in collaboration with the World Food Programme.

The aid is set to benefit more than one million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

More than 10,000 children have been killed in 100 days of war in Gaza, Save the Children reported, quoting figures from the enclave's Hamas-run Health Ministry.

The deaths amount to almost 1 per cent of the estimated 1.1 million children in Gaza.

More than 24,400 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war, according to the ministry, with women and children making up about 70 per cent of the casualties.

Most of those have been killed by Israeli air strikes and shelling, which have hit the densely populated enclave daily since the war began on October 7, when Hamas killed about 1,200 in a surprise attack on Israel.