Doha: Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) has recently signed a bilateral memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ukrainian Red Crescent Society (URCS) to launch a $400,000 relief program for the victims of the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Signed by Saleh bin Ali Al-Mohannadi, QRCS Secretary-General, and Dr. Ivan Usichenko, URCS President, the agreement is intended to set the framework for the collaboration between the two parties in relation to the support of IDPs affected by the armed conflict in Donetsk and Lugansk regions, eastern Ukraine.
Under the agreement, QRCS will donate the funding, oversee the project implementation, and provide technical support to the project's planning, implementation, monitoring, and reporting.
On the other hand, URCS will be responsible for planning and implementing the activities proposed, collecting and keeping readily accessible information and documentation pertinent to the progress of the project and the use made of the funds, and facilitating visits by QRCS to the target regions to review the progress and achievements.
As part of project execution, food vouchers worth $15 each will be handed over to the beneficiaries, at a total of 25,555 vouchers for 8,500 most-vulnerable people over three months through February 2016. The food rations will be purchased from the local market, and every beneficiary is eligible for one voucher per month.
Al-Mohannadi commented, "We proceeded to help the affected civilians in eastern Ukraine as an active member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, inspired by human solidarity and the seven humanitarian fundamental principles to save the lives and preserve human dignity for all vulnerable people everywhere."
The Secretary-General said the MoU reflects QRCS's leading role as a globally recognized humanitarian organization whose emblem, vehicles, and staff are protected under international laws and conventions, a legal capacity that gives it access to disaster and conflict zones.
In late February 2014, violent clashes erupted in parts of Ukraine, later reaching full-scale conflict in the east. the humanitarian crisis is continuing to deteriorate as the number of Ukrainians in need of assistance has now reached a total of five million people, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Almost 1.5 million people were internally displaced and 1.1 were externally displaced, of whom only 450,000 people have received humanitarian assistance this year.
Funding of UN aid operations remained a concern, with only 35 percent of the total $316 million requested having been received. The severity of the funding shortfall's impact is slated to grow as Ukraine's short summer turned into winter, exacerbating the needs of the country's most vulnerable people.
As temperatures drop below zero, the death toll has risen to 7,883 till 30 October, in addition to as many as 17,610 injuries.
QNA
