The UAE celebrates tomorrow the “International Day of Charity”… and its foreign aid exceeds 360 billion dirhams

The UAE has presented a pioneering global experience in transforming charitable work into a sustainable approach that impacts all peoples and nations, without discrimination or distinction, based on its immortal ideals of promoting the values ​​of benevolence, brotherhood, volunteering and loyalty from one person to another, wherever they may be and at all times.

The UAE continues to adhere to its international humanitarian responsibilities to achieve the sustainable development goals related to charitable, humanitarian and development work.

Since the establishment of the UAE in 1971, until mid-2024, the UAE’s foreign aid has amounted to AED 360 billion (US$ 98 billion), which has had a significant impact on reducing poverty, mitigating the repercussions of disasters and crises, supporting economic and social development, and enhancing international stability and peace.

Tomorrow, the UAE will join the world in celebrating the “International Day of Charity,” which falls on September 5 of each year. It is an annual occasion to promote the spirit of global solidarity in order to alleviate the effects of damage resulting from crises, support public services in the areas of medical care, education and housing, and protect individuals in communities suffering from difficult circumstances.

The UAE, its leadership, government and people, are characterised by their love of charitable work, helping the distressed and aiding the afflicted, based on the principles of the tolerance of the true Islamic religion and the shared noble human values, towards strengthening the spirit of international solidarity and human solidarity in all its forms and manifestations.

Charity work in the UAE has been a well-established approach since the era of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God bless his soul, who established the values ​​of goodness, giving and generosity for the happiness of all humanity, regardless of origin, race, colour, nationality, religion or creed.

The UAE, under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the State, “may God protect him,” gives top priority to charitable works, activities and initiatives provided by the state to all peoples and countries in the face of disasters, crises, wars and conflicts.

The UAE government, headed by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, may God protect him, is keen to continue the UAE’s charitable and humanitarian work, and to provide a helping hand to all those in need and affected by earthquakes, floods and conflicts on all continents of the world.

The International Humanitarian Affairs Council at the Presidential Court, chaired by His Highness Sheikh Theyab bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Office of Development Affairs and Martyrs’ Families, oversees the international humanitarian affairs system undertaken by the UAE through its pioneering global initiatives and multiple charitable and development projects.

The ninth principle of the UAE’s Fifty Principles affirms that the UAE’s foreign humanitarian aid is an integral part of its journey and moral obligations towards less fortunate peoples and is not linked to religion, race, colour or culture. Moreover, political differences with any country do not justify not providing relief in disasters, emergencies and crises.

The UAE is committed to its international humanitarian responsibilities to achieve sustainable development goals related to charitable, humanitarian and development work, such as eradicating poverty, eliminating hunger, good health and well-being, good education, clean water and sanitation.

Protecting women, girls, children and the elderly, and providing for their needs, is a top priority for Emirati charitable and humanitarian work.

The UAE has a unique experience in institutionalizing charitable work, and was among the first countries to rush to organize it, by establishing all legislative and executive frameworks that guarantee flexibility and speed of action, in addition to opening the way for all segments of society to contribute to charitable work, through several means, including volunteering, donation, and paying zakat.

The UAE is full of donor agencies, humanitarian institutions and charitable associations that continue their institutional and societal roles in the field of charitable work, by focusing their charitable, humanitarian and developmental aid on priority areas and sectors, with the guidance, great interest and unlimited support of the leaders of the UAE, “may God protect them.”

Over the past years, the UAE has launched many humanitarian and charitable initiatives to extend a helping hand to brothers and friends and stand by them in times of crises and disasters, including the “Help, Yemen” campaign in 2015, the “For You, Somalia” campaign in 2017, the UAE campaign for Rohingya children and women in 2019, the “Let’s Make Their Winter Warmer” campaign in 2022, aimed at supporting refugees and displaced persons in the Middle East and Africa, the “Bridges of Goodness” campaign in February 2023 to help those affected by the earthquake in Syria and Turkey, and the “Compassion for Gaza” campaign launched by the UAE to provide relief to Palestinian brothers affected by the war in the Gaza Strip, and other campaigns that embodied the approach of goodness inherent in the UAE.