Combating Poverty and Disease
The need to combat poverty and disease
More than one billion people suffer from extreme poverty, living on less than one dollar a day, while more than 2.7 billion struggle to survive with an income less than two dollars a day.
However, poverty in the developing world goes far beyond a lack of income. Poverty can mean the need to walk for miles every day just to get water, not to mention some 750 million people worldwide who do not have access to potable water in the first place. Poverty is also manifested in the fact that every minute a child dies from water-related diseases. Humanitarian aid is also lacking: despite the increases, it can only meet two-thirds of global demand.
Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives offer a helping hand to those in need wherever in the world they may be, not solely by providing aid, but by combating the root causes of poverty and disease. These programmes have assisted 40 million people in 99 countries by 2015.
What we aim to achieve
In the fight against the spread of disease, our programmes have prevented and treated blindness for 23 million people and provided 81 million vaccines and medications in the past eight years.
These programmes have protected 3.6 million children in vulnerable countries from intestinal worms, which threaten their future, hinder their access to education, and prevent them from leading healthy lives. We have built 46 hospitals and provided drinking water for 6.5 million people.
In the field of combating poverty, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives and its affiliated bodies have given financial and practical support to more than 1.5 million disadvantaged households in 40 countries. We constructed the largest infrastructure and logistics system in the world on an area of 700,000 square feet to provide facilities and services for charitable and humanitarian institutions.
What we achieved so far
23 million
people treated and protected from blindness
81 million
distributed vaccines and medications to treat blindness
3,6 million
children protected from intestinal worms
46
hospitals built
1.5 million
households in 40 countries provided with support and relief
700,000
Sqft world’s largest humanitarian hub
6.5 million
People provided with drinking water
How we combat poverty and disease
Affiliated institutions working on combating poverty and disease
The International Humanitarian City
The International Humanitarian City was founded in 2003 in order to facilitate the provision of humanitarian aid globally. It provides relief organisations with infrastructure, logistics and administrative support in order to achieve a rapid and effective response to disasters and emergencies. It is the largest and most effective logistics centre for humanitarian relief worldwide. Among its members are nine United Nations organisations and 44 international humanitarian organisations.
Mohammed Bin Rashid Charity and Humanitarian Establishment
The Mohammed Bin Rashid Charity and Humanitarian Establishment was established in 1997 with the aim of helping the poor, the sick, widows, orphans, the needy and distressed in the UAE and elsewhere around the world. It further contributes to international rescue and relief operations in places affected by disasters or the ravages of war, and offers the poor inhabitants of those places all possible forms of assistance. It participates in building facilities such as houses of worship, schools, hospitals, homes and wells.
Al Jalila Foundation
The Al Jalila Foundation is a global non-profit organisation established in 2013 to improve human quality of life through the promotion of education and research in medical fields. It targets common health problems in the region such as: cancer, heart and circulatory diseases, diabetes, obesity and mental disease. It achieves its goal by supporting leading medical research efforts and providing scholarship grants to educate a national team of professional medical caregivers.
UAE WATER AID
In June 2014, HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched “UAE Water Aid” campaign, with the aim of providing drinking water to five million people around the world. The campaign was concluded with great success after raising 180 million AED in 18 days. This amount was enough to provide more than 7 million people around the world with drinking water. In 2015, UAE Water Aid Foundation was established to monitor water provision and humanitarian aid initiatives that aim to improve the living conditions of the poor and distressed communities and support sustainable development.
NOUR DUBAI
Founded in 2010, this institution was based on the principle that everyone has the right to lead a healthy life and that "everyone has the right to enjoy eyesight". In cooperation with international partners, it aims at paving the way for a world free of the causes of blindness and visual disabilities through the provision of treatment, preventive and educational programs that treat and prevent blindness and visual impairment in developing countries on both the regional and global levels.