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Add to Preferred SourcesThe United Kingdom is working together with countries across the Middle East to tackle coronavirus and protect the most vulnerable.
The UK has to date dedicated £764 million to the global fight against coronavirus. It is also leading international efforts to develop a safe, workable coronavirus vaccine that will be available throughout the world, and is the biggest country donor to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) to find one.
No one country can respond to the devastating impact of this invisible killer, which means the UK’s long-standing partnership with the Middle East is now even more important.
Communities across the Middle East are in need of humanitarian assistance, particularly those affected by the ongoing conflict in Syria and Yemen, and in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
The UK Government has pledged the support of more than £30 million over the last few months to life-saving programmes across the region, providing essential medical equipment to treat critical care patients and train frontline medics. This is on top of the UK’s funding to the many international agencies and charities providing direct support in this part of the world.
It will also tackle the wider impact of the virus and make sure people have safe access to water and sanitation, children can continue to receive an education and vulnerable families can buy essentials such as food and medicines.
To support the most vulnerable communities in the region in this crisis, UK aid in recent months includes £24 million to help people in Syria and £11.1 million the UK allocated earlier this month to help Iraq, Lebanon and the Occupied Palestinian Territories to tackle the virus. If coronavirus is left to spread in developing countries, this could increase and prolong the spread of the virus globally.
Original source: DFID
Published on 23 May 2020