UAE Promises IDR 156 Billion For Health Sector In Gaza

Gaza/DOC via UN

JAKARTA - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) promised 10 million US dollars (Rp156 billion) for the health sector in the weak Gaza Strip amid the difficult conditions faced by the trapped Palestinian enclave.

"Initiative Global Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (MBRGI) promised a contribution of around US$37 million ($10 million) to support the health sector in Gaza," the Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported as quoted by ANTARA, Thursday, January 18.

The funds " aim to provide important medical supplies for the people in Gaza, especially children who are severely affected by the dire conditions that are now taking place in Gaza," he said.

The promise comes as part of a signed Letter of Intent between MBRGI and the World Health Organization (WHO), which aims to support humanitarian efforts and provide an emergency health service response that saves lives in the Gaza Strip, the news agency added.

"The signing was carried out on the sidelines of MBRGI's participation in the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland," he said.

The health system in the Gaza Strip is experiencing severe collapse due to the ongoing Israeli war in which hospitals and medical staff are targeted.

Israel has been attacking the Gaza Strip since cross-border attacks by Palestinian group Hamas on October 7, which killed at least 24,448 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injured 61,504 others, according to local health authorities.

About 1,200 Israelis are believed to have died in the Hamas attack.

According to the United Nations, 85 percent of the population in Gaza has become refugees amid food shortages, clean water and medicines, while 60 percent of infrastructure in the region is damaged or destroyed.