In her capacity as UN Messenger of Peace and Chairperson of International Humanitarian City (IHC), Dubai's Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, wife of Shaikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, had an audience with Pope Francis at the Vatican, as part of a one-day official visit to Rome.
Princess Haya then attended the 'United for Peace' football match and immediately after, as per the direction of Shaikh Mohammed, met an airlift from Dubai's International Humanitarian City (IHC) at Rome Fiumicino Airport (they were refueling in Rome), to travel to Port-au-Prince, Haiti to oversee a delivery of 90 metric tons of relief supplies to those affected by Hurricane Matthew.
During Her meeting with Pope Francis, Princess Haya discussed world hunger, as both individuals are advocates of combating hunger for the millions of people who suffer around the world. Princess Haya briefed the Pope about Dubai's International Humanitarian City, and how it has grown since 2003, under the direction of Shaikh Mohammed, to become the largest and busiest logistics hub for humanitarian aid in the world.
Tolerance initiative
She also informed His Holiness about Shaikh Mohammed's recently launched initiatives - the first being the Shaikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Award for Tolerance, which will lay the base for developing tolerant young Arab leaders and support a promotion of values that reflect tolerance and openness, and the second, the International Institute of Tolerance (the first of its kind in the Arab world), which will offer advice and views on policies to promote values of tolerance among nations, publish studies and research reports to instill the principle of acceptance among youth.
Aid for Haiti
She previously visited Port-au-Prince on a similar mission after the equally devastating earthquake hit in 2010.
The aid shipment was organized by the International Humanitarian City per the instruction of HH Shaikh Mohammed, and included supplies from the United Nations Humanitarian Response Depot and its partners including Save the Children, Handicap International, World Vision International, Catholic Relief Services, USAID and Lutheran World Relief.
The aid, which was transported on Shaikh Mohammed's personal 747B-400, is valued at more than $350,000 and is estimated to impact approximately 340,000 people. It includes water purification units, mosquito nets, medical supplies, tents and other support equipment that will be distributed among those in need.
The focus of the aid shipment (as cholera is a growing concern) is facilitating access to a sufficient supply of quality water, education, shelter, child protection, health and nutrition for those affected.
Editor's note: This article has been edited from the source material.
