DUBAI, UAE, January 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
- Decision made in response to sharp rise in demand for emergency aid
- IHC to expand a further 300,000 square feet of space for aid provisions
HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, has commissioned work to triple the size of his International City of Aid (IHC) to streamline and strengthen operations to support aid agencies. Upon completion, the IHC will now stretch for a further 300,000 square feet, totalling 404,000 square feet.
(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/459342/IHC_1.jpg )
(Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/459343/IHC_2.jpg )
Intensifying conflicts in Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan,Nigeria and other trouble spotshave led to mass displacement of over 65"million peopleand a sharp rise in the need for emergency aid in the form of food, shelter, and medicine. Demand for such aid is now at its highest level worldwidesince World War II and aid agencies need additional warehousing and logistics support to cope.
The expansion has been approved in order to meet the urgentdemands ofleading UN and NGOagencies trying tocope with this rising demand,most notably the Red Crescent, UNHCR, ICRC,andthe World FoodProgramme. Specifically, the new space will help IHC membersbetterpre-positionstocks intheevent of newpandemics, natural disasters and more armed conflicts and conduct more training of aidworkers.
Founded in 2003, the International Humanitarian City is already the world's largest humanitarian logistics hubandhas nine United Nationsagencies as members plus nearly 50 NGOs and businesses working in the aid sector. When it moved to its current location in Dubai Industrial Citynear Jebel Ali Port and Al Maktoum Airport in 2011it tripled in size, but demand for more space has continued to climb rapidly.
The IHC hasplayeda pivotal role in first responses to crises in placesas far away as Haiti and Vanuatu, but is especially critical in moving goods to trouble spots in the MENA region and East Africa.
