United Nations Hails Qatar's Continued Support for Humanitarian Response
Geneva - information office - 2 July
The Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar in Geneva opened the induction course on the International Humanitarian System organized by the State of Qatar and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva from July 1 to 5, 2019.
In his opening address, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Partnerships with the Middle East and Central Asia Rashid Khalikov referred to the enormous challenges posed by the humanitarian landscape to the multilateral humanitarian system and said that there are indications that more than 14 million people need humanitarian assistance, and that the total needs of the humanitarian community exceed $25 billion.
He stressed that OCHA could not develop and provide this program without the generous support of the State of Qatar, adding that the State's generosity and continued humanitarian response is commendable.
The State of Qatar, through this program, once again expressed its continued support for the multilateral humanitarian system, Khalikov said.
For his part, Deputy Permanent Representative of Qatar to the UN in Geneva Abdullah Al Nuaimi said that the world is facing the worst humanitarian crisis, which makes it impossible for one organization or one country to respond to the magnitude of these crises.
The State of Qatar believed that the efforts of all countries and actors should be united through the best available platform for this issue, which is the multilateral humanitarian system, he added.
Al Nuaimi noted that Qatar's foreign assistance for the period from 2013 to 2017 amounted to QR23 billion ($6.3 billion) and included more than 140 countries in partnership with the United Nations and many international and regional organizations, thus becoming the seventh major donor to OCHA. He also noted that the State of Qatar will chair the OCHA Donor Support Group next year.
Participants in the course expressed thanks and appreciation to the State of Qatar for its support and funding for this important session in promoting international humanitarian action. They also thanked the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) for its organizational and logistical efforts.