Fitting news as the Year of Giving wraps up.
Humanitarian aid is such a core value of the UAE, we’re not exactly surprised to hear this. According to figures from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Emirates rank as the world’s number one provider of official development aid, relative to gross national income.
In 2016, the UAE gave the huge sum of Dhs15.57 billion, WAM reported, which amounts to 1.21 per cent of GNI.
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The bulk of those donations were in the form of grants, WAM said.
Sultan Mohammed Al Shamsi, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for International Development Affairs, credited the ranking to the leadership of President HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
Norway was second in the rankings, giving 1.12 per cent of its GNI, followed by Luxembourg at 1 per cent and Sweden at 0.94 per cent.
The OECD’s target for contributing nations is 0.7 per cent.
While the figures released on Saturday relate to 2016, this year has seen a real emphasis on charitable giving in the country. Sheikh Mohammed sent his own plane to Bangladesh with supplies for the Rohingya Muslim refugees 13 times, and at an individual level, volunteers have also been honoured.
Over the National Day long weekend, Sheikh Mohammed sang the praises of 46 philanthropists, including an 82-year-old woman who has distributed iftar meals to workers in her home city of Sharjah for decades.
Here’s to another charitable year in the UAE for 2018.
Images: Getty
