UAE Pakistan Assistance Program

[Donatello]

UAE, on of the most sensible nations in the middle-east, has a long and strong relationship with Pakistan.

We appreciate their efforts in helping eradicate poverty and it's accompanying ills in Pakistan.

 

[Al Bhatti]

Project was for 3.6 m children it has so far covered around 8 million children

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October 6, 2014

More than 8 million Pakistani children receive polio vaccines

More than 8 million Pakistani children have been vaccinated against polio as a result of the UAE’s Pakistan Assistance Programme.

The vaccinations took place over June, July and August, the state news agency Wam reported.

The initiative, which carried out the vaccines under the directives of the President, Sheikh Khalifa, falls in line with plans by the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, to eradicate polio worldwide.

Helping more than 3 million children in June, more than 2 million in July, and almost 3 million in August, the campaign exceeded its target, Wam reported.

Among the more than 25 areas targeted were Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and other tribal districts.

More than 200 cases have been discovered in Pakistan this year.

UAE project to vaccinate 3.6m Pakistani children

 

[Al Bhatti]

November 16, 2014

The Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Bridge in Pakistan, built with Micad funding and expertise, brings together communities in the Swat Valley that were separated by floods.

UAE development team inspects Pakistan projects

The Ministry of International Cooperation and Development (Micad) said it was satisfied with the progress and performance of UAE-funded projects in Pakistan.

According to a report released by the ministry on Sunday, a Micad team recently visited Pakistan to review three healthcare facilities, two of which are under construction, and two bridges in Swat, a region that has been affected by flooding and terrorism.

The team found that performance was in accordance with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development assistance committee’s standards, and the framework set by Micad.

The Dh18.4 million Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Model Hospital, which is under construction, is expected be able to treat 450 patients a day. It will have three operating rooms, 200 beds for in-patients and two ambulances.

A second hospital, the Emirates Hospital in Rawalpindi, is being built at a cost of Dh396 million and will offer health and treatment services to more than two million people a year.

It will have the capacity for up to 50 operations a day, with 16 operating rooms and 1,000 beds for in-patients.

The two hospitals aim to support Pakistan in lowering the mortality rates of children and women, reduce the proportion of common diseases and decrease infection rates in the region.

The third project is the Paramedic Institute in Saidu Sharif Swat, which opened this year and aims to produce at least 500 graduates every two years.

It offers diplomas in areas including radiology, haematology, anaesthesia, cardiovascular diseases, diagnosis of infectious diseases, mental illness, kidney disease, accidents, dentistry and physiotherapy.

“The people of Swat are very grateful to the UAE Government for helping them in difficult times,” said Prof Taj Muhammad Khan, the senior Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government official in the Swat region.

Prof Khan said that the area had suffered a lot because of natural disasters and terrorism.

He said that the Paramedic Institute was not only providing high-quality education, but was also providing employment.

The Micad team also visited two bridges which were funded by the UAE Government and opened about two years ago.

The Dh38.6m Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Bridge is 448.5 metres long, 10.7m wide and reaches a height of 7m. Two million people and four thousand vehicles use it each year.

The second, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Bridge, is 330m long, 10m wide, and reaches a height of 6m. It was built at a cost of Dh45.7m and is used by 70,000 people and 5,000 vehicles a year.

A Pakistani army official supervising maintenance and security of both bridges said that the densely populated Swat valley was divided by the river and highly dependent on the bridges.

After the floods in Swat in 2010, all the bridges in the region were destroyed.

“The bridges have not only connected the people but also play a crucial role in promoting local trade,” the official said.

UAE development team inspects Pakistan projects | The National

 

[Al Bhatti]

Related thread:

UAE-funded school opens in Pakistan

UAE opens 40 schools in Pakistan

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8 December 2014

UAE helps rebuild flood-hit Pakistan

Phases I and II of UAE Project to Assist Pakistan carried out development and assistance projects at a cost of $320m

Launched on January 12, 2011, on the directives of the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan; and General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces; and with the continuous follow-up of Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, the UAE Project to Assist Pakistan (UAE-PAP) aimed to help Pakistan overcome the aftermath of destructive torrential rains.

The total cost of the projects carried out under Phases I and II of the UAE-PAP plan amounted to $320 million.

The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development and the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation footed a major part of the cost.

The project follows a comprehensive plan of rehabilitation that takes into account the rugged geographical topography and harsh weather conditions. The plan has four main pivots to rehabilitate the area and secure community development: Roads and bridges, education, health and water supply.

Development assistance projects of this kind are comprehensive by nature in order to help all sects, age groups and social classes of the Pakistani community, especially orphans, the handicapped, children, women, the elderly and the Pakistani people in general.

The UAE-PAP’s mission objectives include providing assistance to the people of Pakistan by developing poverty elimination programmes, upgrading the educational system/environment, upgrading medical services and the community health environment and helping to create job opportunities for Pakistani nationals in order to eliminate unemployment and improve economic conditions.

Challenges

Swat Valley and north-western areas of Pakistan were obliterated by the destructive seasonal floods which devastated the infrastructure. It was impossible to travel across Swat River, and the region was entirely cut off, making it impossible to deliver food, tents and medical supplies to the homeless in a timely manner. Inhabitants found it extremely hard to travel and had to use remote unmaintained roads and unconventional means of transport.

With no tarmac roads available, the inhabitants of South Waziristan suffered from a similar ordeal. For this reason, the people of the region had lost all hope for development.

Road and bridge projects

The UAE-PAP carried out four road and bridge projects at a cost of $12,158,000.

These are among the most vital projects with a huge contribution to the development of infrastructure in remote areas in Pakistan. Of particular significance is the reconstruction of the Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Bridge, which was originally constructed 40 years ago, but destroyed by floods, leaving many villagers cut off and without necessary relief or supplies.

The 330-metre-long, 10-metre-wide, 6-metre-high bridge serves 70,000 commuters daily.

The inhabitants of South Waziristan today find life more convenient and are able to travel easily and enjoy the exquisite scenery along Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Road, which provides them with a new artery for life and modern culture.

The Makeen-Miranshah Road is a modern development project being carried out in both South and North Waziristan.

It is a vital transportation project that links Makeen in the north of South Waziristan with Miranshah in the northern FATA Province, and serves the inhabitants of three towns and 20 villages.

Education projects

Educational premises were severely hit and devastated by seasonal floods and military operations, and local students were forced to study in the open air, in tents, on roof-tops or in make-shift venues. The situation worsened in winters due to the harsh weather conditions.

The UAE-PAP took the initiative to help Pakistan by building and equipping 60 educational projects to modern international standards.

Shaikh Khalifa’s directives resulted in the sponsorship of 53 projects as a first stage to absorb 30,000 students. As many as 43 primary to secondary schools and 10 technical colleges and institutes were built under this project. Stage II is being carried out to set up and upgrade three colleges and four new women’s rehabilitation centres at a total cost of $14.4 million.

Health services

Even before the devastating floods struck Pakistan in 2010, not all inhabitants in the region had access to proper health services.

Floods were the final stroke to the remaining medical services, and delay in delivering first aid supplies caused many avoidable deaths.

The UAE-PAP management sponsored a number of health programmes and projects to boost Pakistan’s Health Ministry efforts and capabilities to upgrade medical services.

The sponsorship provided for the setting up of, equipping and maintaining eight hospitals/clinics in Islamabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, South Waziristan and Bajaur at a total cost of $125,887,000.

Special attention was given to extending healthcare to women and children as a cornerstone of family health.

UAE helps rebuild flood-hit Pakistan

 

[Al Bhatti]

January 24, 2015

Second phase of UAE polio campaign starts in Pakistan
The polio campaign launched under Shaikh Khalifa’s directives

The UAE Pakistan Assistance Programme (UPAP) has announced the start of the second phase of the UAE vaccination campaign against polio, which is targeting 17 million children in Pakistan and administering 51 million doses of vaccine.

The campaign is being implemented under the directives of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and in line with the initiative of General Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to eradicate polio worldwide.

The programme said the campaign comes as a translation of Shaikh Khalifa’s instructions to step up health-care programmes in the affected areas of Pakistan and is part of a Dh440 million pledge by Shaikh Mohammad to support global efforts in eradicating polio by 2018, with a specific contribution towards Afghanistan and Pakistan.

UPAP Director Abdullah Khalifa Al Gafli said the vaccination campaign has been a huge success in its first phase, vaccinating 13 million Pakistani children. The UAE has launched the second phase of its polio campaign to vaccinate 17 million children in Pakistan with the slogan ‘healthy and bright future for all’.

Al Gafli pointed out that the launch of the second phase comes an investment breakthrough achieved by the campaign and the culmination of practical success in immunising more than 13 million Pakistani children against polio in the first phase.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) reports indicated the seriousness of the increase in the number of cases detected in Pakistan in 2014, where 303 child were affected by polio, it is the highest number of cases of the disease in a decade, as the total number of cases recorded at the global level reached 339 cases, where about 90 per cent of children who fell victim to polio through 2014 are Pakistani children.

Polio is a highly contagious viral disease which attacks the nervous system, and most people exposed to the disease are children under the age of five, and one child out of every 200-400 children affected by polio is exposed to paralysis or death. According to government reports and international organisations, lack of health awareness about the dangers of the disease and erroneous beliefs hinder eradication.

The 2013 Global Vaccine Summit held in Abu Dhabi announced a five-year ( 2013-2018) strategic plan to wipe out polio which will cost $5.5 billion (Dh20.20 billion), and a scientific study estimated that efforts of the global initiative to eradicate polio could save as much as $40 to $50 billion.

Second phase of UAE polio campaign starts in Pakistan | GulfNews.com

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Related thread: UAE project to vaccinate 3.6m Pakistani children

 

[MilSpec]

Great Work by UAE!

 

[Al Bhatti]

Maj Gen Bajwa Director-General of the ISPR (Inter Services Public Relations) in an interview with Gulf News.


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July 12, 2015

UAE supports major projects in Pakistan
UAE grant is being used in development of terrorism-stricken areas and also during natural calamities

The UAE government, with the help of the Pakistan Army, started the UAE Pakistan Assistance Programme (UAE PAP) on January 12, 2011 with the theme ‘Peace through Sustained Development’.

“The projects were completed in collaboration with the Engineers Division in very challenging and difficult circumstances,” said Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa, Director-General of the ISPR (Inter Services Public Relations).

He said that Pakistan and UAE have always enjoyed a long-lasting relationship based on trust, friendship and solidarity.

In an interview with Gulf News, Maj Gen Bajwa outlined the various projects being carried out by the UAE in Pakistan in collaboration with the Pakistan armed forces.

“To mitigate the impact of militancy in Malakand Division, Bajaur Agency and South Waziristan Agency, UAE PAP efforts were focused on education, health, water supply and infrastructure,” he said.

The grant provided by the UAE, he added, is being used not only for the development and rehabilitation of terrorism-stricken areas but also during natural calamities. In 2010, the UAE was the first country to help flood-hit areas of Swat by redeveloping infrastructure.

The UAE provided full assistance in rebuilding schools and educational institutions destroyed during the militant uprising. Under UAE PAP projects, 42 educational facilities in Swat district have been built.

“The construction of 64 water schemes, 21 schools and a bridge have also been completed in collaboration with UAE in FATA (Federally Administered Tribal Areas) and Malakand,” said Maj Gen Bajwa. “As a result, 1,200 families have been provided with clean drinking water, while thousands of children are going to schools.

Government Poly Technical Institute and vocational training centres have also been constructed under UAE PAP in Swat, Dir and Mingora which provided an opportunity to men and women for enhancement of skills and enabled them to maintain a degree of self-reliance and self-sufficiency.”

Other projects that have come on board are a 40-bed agency hospital in South Waziristan, a 90-bed Shaikha Fatima Bint Mubarak model hospital and a 80-bed hospital in Khar.

All these projects, said Maj Gen Bajwa, have facilitated the process of economic development and ensured greater economic and social stabilisation in the region. “The support of our brothers from UAE has been commendable,” he emphasised.

UAE supports major projects in Pakistan | GulfNews.com



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