Suqia signs MoU with Dubai Cares to provide Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) facilities in developing countries
- February 13, 2020
- Posted by: Lyn Wilson
- Category: Corporate, Environmental, Global, Investment and Finance, Tenders and Contracts, Water Issues, Middle East
Suqia, the UAE (United Arab Emirates) Water Aid Foundation and Dubai Cares in February 2020 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Suqia and Dubai Cares both come within the framework of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE) Global Initiatives. The agreement has been made to be united so as to support developing countries facing water scarcity.
The MoU was signed by H.E. Dr. Tariq Al Gurg, CEO and Member of the Board of Directors at Dubai Cares and Mohammed Al Shamsi, Acting Executive Director-UAE Water Aid Foundation (Suqia).
H.E Dr. Tariq Al Gurg spoke about the importance of partnerships between UAE-based foundations:
“We are always stronger when we are united, and we are proud to enter into this new strategic partnership with UAE Water Aid Foundation (Suqia). Waterborne diseases are the leading causes of death of children under five, while adequate access to WASH facilities can prevent these diseases from spreading out. Through this program, Dubai Cares along with UAE Water Aid Foundation (Suqia) strive not only to improve WASH facilities within schools, but also raise awareness and educate schoolchildren and communities on how they can enhance healthy hygiene behavior, knowledge and practice.”
The agreement coincides with the ideology of the International Day of Education which took place on 24th January 2020 the theme of which was: “Learning for people, planet, prosperity and peace.”
The organization Suqia aims to provide humanitarian aid globally in communities suffering from water scarcity and Dubai Cares is playing a major part in aiming to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 which is to guarantee comprehensive and quality education for all and to promote lifelong learning by 2030.
The program will be implemented in two of Madagascar’s largest cities: Antananarivo and Mahajanga. Suqia has agreed to finance Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) of Dubai Cares as part of the partnership arrangement.
The USD 1,035,000 program will hopefully benefit 14,250 children and 33,750 community members. One of the goals of this intervention is to construct and rehabilitate WASH facilities in schools and health centers and in addition to deliver pure and potable water daily to meet children’s needs at schools and the adjoining neighborhoods.
Together with its global education programs, Dubai Cares also runs WASH-in-Schools programs in developing countries by providing access to potable water and adequate sanitation facilities. Dubai Cares has so far launched 17 WASH-in-Schools programs in 10 countries: Chad, Ethiopia, Haiti, Indonesia, Jordan, Mali, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Madagascar and Zimbabwe, reaching over 3 million beneficiaries.
Suqia doesn’t aim only to enable the provision of drinking water in water scarce areas across the globe but is consistently researching how innovative and sustainable technologies can be part of the solution to the worldwide water crisis. The organization is also responsible for overseeing the ‘Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Water Award’ that encourages leading corporations, research centers, institutions and innovators from across the world to compete in finding sustainable and innovative solar-energy solutions to the problem of water scarcity.
Source: Dubai Electricity and Water Authority