A joint delegation from the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) and the Dukedom of Westminster took a tour of camps of Iraqi Internal Displaced Persons (IDPs) and camps of Syrian refugees in Iraq's Kurdistan region to inspect their living conditions in the wake of events taking place in Iraq and Syria.
Led by Dr Hamdan Musallam Al Mazrouei, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the ERC, and Gerald Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster, the delegation was briefed on efforts being made by the ERC to alleviate the suffering of Iraqi IDPs and Syrian refugees and improve their living conditions.
The delegation toured six camps and viewed relief services in areas of shelter, food, health and other life-saving essentials.
Al Mazrouei said the ERC had opened a sewing workshop at Dar Shukran camp in Kurdistan to provide job opportunities to refugees. The facility tailors 250 garments daily. Three bakeries had also been opened, and each produces 6,000 loaves of bread a day.
The Duke of Westminster lauded the ERC's humanitarian initiatives towards both, the IDPs and refugees, under the instructions of H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler's Representative in the Western Region and Chairman of the ERC.
He noted that what he had seen on the ground confirmed the ERC's leadership in humanitarian work, placing it in the forefront of organisations providing better living conditions to the affected and needy people.
Al Mazrouei said the visit was part of joint cooperation and coordination efforts between the ERC and the Dukedom of Westminster in areas of humanitarian work and exchange of expertise. He added that the Kurdistan region was facing double humanitarian challenges in terms of the increasing flow of refugees from Syria and IDPs due to the escalating events in Iraq.
The Kurdistan visit was the first outcome of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed recently between ERC and the Dukedom of Westminster.