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GENEVA / WAM
The UN refugee Agency has commended the UAE for supporting humanitarian efforts to airlift emergency aid and supplies to Ethiopian refugees in Sudan.
Spokesperson of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Babar Baloch, told a news briefing in Geneva that a plane carrying 32 tons of UNHCR emergency aid from global stockpile in Dubai landed in Khartoum. Another airlift was scheduled to leave Dubai on Monday with 100 tons of additional relief items. UNHCR’s global stockpile is hosted by the International Humanitarian City in Dubai, IHC. ”In total, we plan to send four airlifts,” he added.
The cargo included 5,000 blankets, 4,500 solar lamps, 2,900 mosquito nets, 200 plastic sheets and 200 plastic rolls. A second airlift will carry 1,275 family tents and 10 prefabricated warehouses. This aid will meet the immediate shelter needs of more than 16,000 people.
”The transportation costs of both flights were generously covered by the Government of United Arab Emirates,” he said.
The United Arab Emirates announced last week allocating AED 18.4 million ($5.0 million) in support of the recently arrived Ethiopian refugees in Sudan. Since the start of fighting in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region in early November, he noted, more than 43,000 refugees have crossed into Sudan.