Together We Stand

[ 24 ] The United Arab Emirates: responding to emergencies and helping to build resilience HE Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Cooperation, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, United Arab Emirates W hen working in countries with complex development and humanitarian needs, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) aims to take a multisectoral and holistic approach towards building resilience to future shocks. The UAE is able to do this, in part, because of the diversity of its aid actors — foundations, non-governmental and semi- governmental organizations — that specialize in different sectors of activity. While all projects are carried out in close cooperation with recipient governments, the decentralized structure of UAE foreign aid allows a great deal of flexibility, as partnerships with local and international organizations are identified on a case-by-case basis. The UAE is also unencum- bered by the perceived divide between ‘humanitarian’ and ‘development’ activities that many other donors are bound by, allowing aid actors to address needs as they see them, and help to build resilience through their development projects. Finally, the UAE is able to leverage its unique position as an Arab/Muslim donor country, allowing its teams to access communities that many other international actors cannot. In Pakistan, for example, several UAE aid actors operate under the aegis of the Pakistan Assistance Programme (PAP), a multi-year, multisectoral development programme that is coordinated by a team on the ground and run in close cooperation with the Government of Pakistan and the Pakistan Army. The UAE Ministry of Presidential Affairs leads the UAE PAP Committee that includes the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development and Emirates Red Crescent, as well as other arms of both federal and emirate-level governmental enti- ties. Partners have previously included the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, UNICEF and the governments of the United Kingdom and the United States. Following the catastrophic floods of 2010, the UAE greatly scaled up its activities in Pakistan; as well as providing imme- The UAE helps to get hospitals and medical centres up and running, and provides vital medical supplies Through the PAP, the UAE is spearheading vaccination campaigns in the remote tribal areas of Pakistan’s FATA region Image: UAE Pakistan Assistance Programme Image: UAE Pakistan Assistance Programme T ogether W e S tand