WHO chief hails Kuwait’s generous humanitarian contribution to Yemen
Funds will provide relief: Dr Tedros
GENEVA, July 14, (KUNA): Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has hailed Kuwait’s generous contribution to the works of WHO in Yemen.
“WHO thanks the people and Government of the State of Kuwait for their generous contribution to the work of WHO. In particular, this contribution will provide life-saving health services to the people of Yemen who are facing diseases such as cholera, diphtheria and measles,” he told KUNA in an exclsuive interview Friday.
“With the health system devastated by the conflict, Yemenis with heart conditions, diabetes and other non-communicable diseases are equally desperate to access medicines and health services. Your funds will provide relief,” he added.
Kuwait is the first country among the Gulf Cooperation Council for the Arab States to contribute to WHO’s Contingency Fund for Emergencies, he noted, adding that the fund enables WHO to respond urgently to outbreaks and acute crises, such as the recent Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and diphtheria among the displaced Rohingya population in Bangladesh.
For his part, Kuwait’s Permanent Representative to the UN and other international organizations in Geneva Ambassador Jamal Al-Ghunaim praised the remarkable role of the World Health Organization (WHO) in dealing with the humanitarian situation in Yemen as well as in areas where epidemics and diseases are prevalent.
He added that his meeting with the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) discussed directing Kuwaiti support for the organization’s programs in Yemen such as dealing with cases of cholera or diphtheria, developing the health sector in Yemen and providing medicines and health services especially to the most vulnerable social groups.
He pointed out that the State of Kuwait is keen to make the most of the humanitarian aid to the Yemenis, whether in the health field or in dealing with the problem of internally displaced persons or providing food, stressing that supporting the Yemenis is not new to Kuwait as it was proactive in participating in many of the Development Programs.
Ambassador Al-Ghunaim also stressed Kuwait’s keenness not to give up its assistance to the Yemenis on both political and humanitarian tracks.