Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has announced the launch of the One Billion Meals Endowment Campaign keeping in line with the charitable spirit of Ramadan.
Photo: WAM
The holy month is expected to fall on Thursday, March 23, and will mark a period of fasting and worship for Muslims across the world but most importantly, Ramadan is a month of charity and giving to those who are less fortunate. In accordance with this integral aspect of Ramadan, the campaign expands upon previous efforts by Sheikh Mohammed to establish an endowment for more sustainable and long-term assistance for those in need. This will be accomplished by mobilizing local, regional, and international organizations with the ultimate aim of eradicating world hunger.
The campaign will be managed by the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI), one of the largest regional foundations and a reflection of Dubai’s commitment to humanitarian efforts. While talking about the endowment fund Sheikh Mohammed said, “As it has become a yearly Ramadan tradition, this year we launch the ‘One Billion Meals Endowment’ campaign with the aim of sustainably providing hundreds of millions of meals to people in need.” He added that “our goal is to provide hundreds of millions of meals in a sustainable way for decades to come through this endowment project, ensuring ongoing charity for the people of the UAE and uninterrupted goodness, God willing.”
Earlier in the day, he also tweeted that “one out of every ten people in the world suffers from hunger” while talking about the goals of the campaign. According to a United Nations report world hunger has been on the rise in recent years with the World Food Programme estimating that 345.2 million people will be food insecure in 2023 – more than double the number in 2020. The Food and Agriculture Organisation revealed in a report last year that 45 million children under the age of five suffer from wasting – the most fatal kind of malnutrition.
As mentioned before this latest campaign builds upon previous efforts by Sheikh Mohammed to target hunger around the world – 10 million meals in 2020, 100 million meals in 2021, and one billion meals in 2022. Last year’s campaign achieved its target in less than a month securing meals for people across 50 countries including Nigeria, Sudan, Albania, Jordan, Egypt, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, India, Pakistan, and more. Similar to these previous efforts the endowment campaign is looking for contributions from institutions, companies, businessmen and individuals. In addition to helping those in need, this campaign will strengthen the UAE’s contribution towards global humanitarian efforts in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and allow the emirate to support victims of conflicts, natural disasters and crises around the world.
Donations can be made at 1billionmeals.ae
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