The United Arab Emirates celebrates the “International Day of Charity” on September 5 each year, reaffirming its ongoing commitment to its humanitarian and civilizational responsibilities by promoting charitable, humanitarian, and developmental work globally.

Charitable work in the UAE is a deeply rooted approach and a firmly established community culture since the founding of the federation. Since then, the UAE has never hesitated to assist the needy, aid disaster victims, and foster a spirit of solidarity and human cooperation with all peoples and countries during times of disasters, crises, wars, and conflicts.

According to the ninth principle of the UAE’s Fifty Principles, the country’s foreign humanitarian aid is an integral part of its journey and ethical commitments toward less fortunate peoples. Reflecting this, the value of the UAE’s foreign aid has exceeded 360 billion dirhams (98 billion US dollars) by mid-2024.

This year, the occasion coincides with the UAE leading international efforts to assist and relieve the Palestinian brothers in the Gaza Strip through the “Al-Faris Al-Shahim 3” operation. The UAE continues its commitment to provide various forms of humanitarian and relief support to the brotherly Sudanese people, with aid exceeding 3.5 billion dollars over the past ten years. Meanwhile, the total number of beneficiaries of humanitarian and relief aid provided by the UAE to the friendly Ukrainian people reached more than 1.2 million by last February.

Regarding relief for natural disaster victims, the UAE provided aid this year to the friendly Republic of Chad, including 30,000 food baskets and over 20,000 blankets. It also delivered 700 tons of urgent food supplies to those affected by floods in several areas of Somalia and sent urgent humanitarian aid to the Republic of Myanmar to support nearly 80,000 people affected by the earthquake there. On September 1, the UAE announced urgent humanitarian aid for 960 families affected by floods in Yemen’s western coastal areas.

The UAE International Aid Agency signed an agreement with the government of the Republic of Chad to build the Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Hospital and a dialysis center in N’Djamena, the capital of Chad.

This year, the UAE launched several global humanitarian initiatives, such as the “Father’s Endowment,” which will invest part of its proceeds in providing healthcare and treatment for the poor, needy, and those unable to afford it, supporting health systems in less fortunate communities by developing hospitals and securing necessary medicines and treatments.

The International Humanitarian Affairs Council at the Presidential Court supervises the UAE’s international humanitarian affairs system through its pioneering global initiatives and multiple charitable and developmental projects.

The UAE hosts dozens of humanitarian institutions and charitable associations playing prominent and influential roles domestically and internationally, such as Dubai Charity Association, which provided essential aid to millions of beneficiaries in 21 countries including the UAE, and Sharjah Charity Association, whose total aid, sponsorships, and projects exceeded 214.415 million dollars in the first half of this year, benefiting over 1.546 million people.

The Saqr bin Mohammed Al Qasimi Foundation for Charitable and Humanitarian Works announced a series of achievements and qualitative programs during the first half of this year, making a direct and sustainable impact on the lives of thousands inside and outside Ras Al Khaimah.

The Emirates Charity Association implemented 1,451 charitable projects during the first half of this year, while the Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla Foundation for Charitable and Humanitarian Works in Umm Al Quwain provided aid worth 18.2 million dirhams during the first quarter.

The World Charity Authority implemented projects worth 222 million dirhams during the first half of this year, while the value of projects and initiatives by the Ittihad Charity Foundation exceeded 16 million dirhams. The Ihsan Charity Association spent more than 60 million dirhams on humanitarian and developmental projects during the same period.

The “Preserving Blessings” project, affiliated with Fujairah Charity Association, reached 259,000 beneficiaries during the first half of this year. The Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi Humanitarian Foundation provided prominent aid in health and education sectors, alongside its contribution to the “Al-Faris Al-Shahim 3” operation.

The UAE was among the first countries to organize charitable work by establishing all legislative and executive frameworks that ensure flexibility and swift action. In this context, the UAE issued Federal Law No. 3 of 2021, regulating fundraising in the country, protecting donors’ funds, and ensuring their legitimate delivery.

Over the past years, the UAE launched many humanitarian and charitable initiatives to extend a helping hand to brothers and friends and stand by them in times of crises and disasters, including the “Your Help Yemen” campaign in 2015, the “For You Somalia” campaign in 2017, the UAE campaign for Rohingya children and women in 2019, the “Let’s Make Their Winter Warmer” campaign in 2022 aimed at supporting refugees and displaced persons in the Middle East and Africa, the “Bridges of Goodness” campaign in February 2023 to aid those affected by the earthquake in Syria and Turkey, the “Mercy for Gaza” campaign in October 2023, the “UAE is with You Lebanon” campaign in 2024, among others that embody the UAE’s deeply rooted culture of charity.