COVID-19 – Dubai becomes world humanity center during pandemic

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – The United Arab Emirates’ most populous city of Dubai has been serving as the largest humanitarian center in the world during the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

A statement from the UAE Embassy in Jakarta received here on Tuesday said that the Dubai International Humanitarian City (DIHC) was the transit location of 80 percent of aid deployed by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The geographically strategic location and adequate infrastructures make the UAE an effective delivery point for humanitarian logistics in reaching a number of countries.

On May 4, 2020, in cooperation with the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), the UAE launched an international air bridge program to provide humanitarian supply lines for countries struggling to deal with the effects of the COVID-19.

At the same time, the UAE also took part in a global conference held by European leaders to raise 7.5 billion euros to find, produce and distribute COVID-19 vaccines.

In addition, in line with the efforts of the UAE to contribute to the global scientific community on the COVID-19, the country has shared genomic sequencing and mutation data with various global databases.

The 9.6 million-populated country also provides an open source of the COVID-19 genome based on Nexstrain data to help scientists around the world track the spread of the pandemic.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, the UAE has been a leader in global humanitarian efforts to stem the spread of the deadly virus.

As the most active COVID-19 donor in the world, UAE’s assistance has reached 70 countries, including China, Italy, Britain, Iran, Pakistan, Brazil, Russia, Yemen, and Afghanistan.

Reporting by Indonesia Window