The move by The 100 Million Meals campaign, the biggest food drive in the region, to distribute 10 million meals inside the country is extremely praiseworthy. Particularly because it comes at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has made fulfilling basic needs a huge task. With many jobless and struggling to make ends meet, this drive has come as a ray of hope to the beleaguered people at the receiving end of the virus impact.

The 100 million meals campaign has tied up with the UAE Food Bank to distribute the 10 million meals.

The 100 Million Meals campaign, launched in April 2021, is an initiative by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to provide food parcels for families and people in need across 30 countries. It has provided food support for the vulnerable in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

The partnership will distribute 112,000 food parcels costing Dhs13.4 million to beneficiaries in the UAE through the UAE Food Bank’s logistical distribution network. Each parcel weighs 42kg of basic food items and can satisfy one person for 30 days.

By providing a total of 10 million meals, the partnership will benefit all segments of the UAE community as part of the campaign, which was organised by the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI). During Ramadan, the campaign successfully doubled its goal and collected total donations that can cover the cost of 216 million meals.

The campaign also completes the work of the 10 Million Meals initiative, launched by Her Highness Sheikha Hind Bint Maktoum Bin Juma Al Maktoum, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the UAE Food Bank, who is the wife of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid, in Ramadan 2020. Today, the partnership capitalises on this success, to provide further food aid to families in need,” said Sarah Al Nuaimi, Department Manager of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives.

Dr. Essam Sharaf Al Hashemi, a member of the Steering and Operation Committee of the Emirates Food Bank and Director of the Food Trade Control Department in Dubai Municipality, said: “The role of the Emirates Food Bank complements the efforts undertaken by the UAE for aid at the regional and international levels, by distributing food to the targeted groups of needy families and workers within the country. ‘’

The bank is cooperating with charitable societies to reach out to all targeted groups in the country and translate the act of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum for delivery of food to targeted groups into reality.

Coinciding with the ‘100 Million Meals’ campaign, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Establishment (MBRCH) announced the expansion of food relief operations to 10 additional countries.

The MBRCH will finance and implement food support operations in a new list of countries including Benin and Senegal in Africa, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan and Nepal in Asia, Kosovo in Europe, and Brazil in South America, thus contributing to financing the ‘100 Million Meals’ campaign efforts in 30 countries, and carrying out on-ground distribution operations in 17 of them.

The MBRCH is working with the campaign’s organiser, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI), in collaboration with the United Nations World Food Programme, the Food Banking Regional Network, and local humanitarian organisations to ensure swift and integrated food distribution to beneficiaries in target countries.

It simply proves that the UAE will always remain a global bastion of philanthropy.

It also goes to show that humanitarian work in the UAE is never-ending and has become an intrinsic part of culture in the UAE.