UAE envoy joins volunteers collecting relief items for Pakistan’s flood-affected people

United Arab Emirates Ambassador Hamad Alzaabi poses with Pakistani actor and social activist Fakhre Alam as he collects food and other relief items for flood-affected people in Islamabad, Pakistan from UAE on September 12, 2022. (Twitter/uaeembassyisb)
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Updated 13 September 2022
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UAE envoy joins volunteers collecting relief items for Pakistan’s flood-affected people

  • The gulf state has been in the forefront of countries providing humanitarian assistance to Pakistan
  • UAE has sent 37 flights with food, medicines and other relief goods to help displaced families in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ambassador Hamad Alzaabi joined hundreds of volunteers from different parts of his country on Monday to collect food and other relief items for flood-affected people in Pakistan, said the embassy of the Arab state in a social media post.

The project, “We Stand Together,” was launched by a coalition of 12 humanitarian organizations to assist Pakistani families who have been displaced by the recent floods in the country.

Pakistan has witnessed record monsoon rains since the beginning of the season in June which led to flash floods in different regions and affected the lives of over 33 million people.

The initiative to help Pakistan was originally promoted by Emirates Red Crescent, Dubai Cares and Sharjah Charity International in collaboration with the UAE administration.

“H.E. Hamad Alzaabi, UAE Ambassador in Islamabad, joins hundreds of volunteers from across the UAE to ‘We Stand together’ initiative to collect relief packages for flood-affected in Pakistan, and the campaign managed to collect 1,200 tons of food including 30,000 food packages,” the embassy announced on Twitter while sharing images of the envoy and volunteers working on the initiative.

The UAE has been in the forefront of countries providing humanitarian assistance to Pakistan in the wake of the floods.

According to the foreign office in Islamabad, the Arab country has so far sent 37 flights carrying food, medicines and other relief goods for flood-affected families.

“UAE with the support of wise leadership managed to transform the concept of charitable work into human values and the great success of the We Stand Together initiative to support the brothers in Pakistan is an embodiment of these noble values,” said Alzaabi.


Pakistan reports first wild polio case of 2026 despite vaccination campaigns

Updated 05 March 2026
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Pakistan reports first wild polio case of 2026 despite vaccination campaigns

  • Four-year-old girl infected in Sindh’s Sujawal district as virus persists in high-risk areas
  • Pakistan conducted last nationwide campaign in January, vaccinating over 45 million children

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan reported its first wild poliovirus case of the year, health authorities said on Thursday, underscoring the persistence of the disease in high-risk areas despite ongoing vaccination campaigns.

The latest infection was confirmed in a four-year-old girl in Sujawal district of the southern Sindh province, according to the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health in Islamabad.

Polio is a highly contagious viral disease that can cause permanent paralysis, mainly in children under the age of five. Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where the disease remains endemic.

“The case was reported through the polio surveillance network and confirmed by the Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health, Islamabad,” the statement said.

“The Polio Eradication Initiative is already analyzing the best response to tackle and prevent further transmission.”

In 2026, Pakistan conducted a nationwide polio campaign in January that vaccinated more than 45 million children, while the next national campaign is planned for April.

Since 1994, Pakistan has cut polio cases by 99.8 percent through vaccination efforts, reducing infections from an estimated 20,000 in the early 1990s to 31 in 2025.

Pakistan reported 31 polio cases in 2025. Southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa accounted for more than half of the country’s polio cases in 2025, with 17 of the 31 infections reported from the region.

According to health authorities, 74 cases were reported in 2024.

More than 200 polio workers and police officers assigned to protect polio teams have been killed in Pakistan since the 1990s, according to health and security officials.

Militants often falsely claim the vaccination campaigns are part of a Western plot to sterilize Muslim children.

The vaccination campaigns are also undermined by parental refusals in remote regions.