Upon the approval of the Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the International Humanitarian City (IHC), has chartered two aircraft transporting urgent humanitarian aid and medical supplies from WHO Logistics Hub in Dubai to Sudan.

The health emergency and escalating crisis in Sudan demands the immediate dispatch of life-saving medicines, medical supplies, and technical logistics personnel to support the WHO and the Ministry of Health of Sudan. The supplies will fill critical shortages of medicines in health facilities and increase access to protective and biomedical equipment in response to COVID-19.

The IHC charted two aircraft rotations from the partner of Dubai Vaccine Logistics Alliance (DVLA) Emirates SkyCargo, which are transporting from Dubai International Airport (DXB) to Khartoum Airport the vital cargo. The first plane landed in Khartoum on Sunday, the 28th of February. The second landed on Monday 1st of March, carrying WHO supplies weighing 54 metric tons at a total value of USD 795,000, which is estimated to reach over 700,000 beneficiaries.

This marks the first time the WHO logistics hub in Dubai is simultaneously deploying technical logistics staff and medical supplies from Dubai to accelerate a health emergency response in support of WHO staff on the front lines.

Last year, from September to December 2020, IHC activated a humanitarian air bridge carrying aid provided by the humanitarian community and stored within IHC warehouses in Dubai to support the Sudanese population affected by the floods and to help tens of thousands of refugees and displaced individuals fleeing the Tigray region of Ethiopia to Sudan.

“IHC by supporting the emergency response of its member community, reflects His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s vision for assisting populations affected by natural disasters and complex emergencies” said Giuseppe Saba, CEO of the International Humanitarian City, “IHC has been always together with its community and will continue to support pro-actively the humanitarian action and continue to serve most in need”.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and IHC are dispatching emergency health kits, personnel protection equipment, laboratory tests and appropriated medical supplies stored within IHC premises, considering the country challenge in detecting, prevent, and mitigating the spread of COVID-19 and simultaneously to provide treatments.

“These supplies are a lifeline for people in need of health care in Sudan. Support from IHC has allowed us to deliver these supplies at a time when they are most needed, to make sure people have access to the health services they need and avoid unnecessary loss of lives. WHO  is also grateful to the United States Agency for International Development, the European Commission for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid, the Sudan Humanitarian Response Fund, and WHO’s Central Emergency Response Fund, whose generous contributions allowed the procurement of these urgently-needed supplies,” said Dr Nima Abid, WHO Representative in Sudan.