The UAE has sent a second shipment of about 38,700 Sputnik V Covid vaccine doses to the Gaza Strip, state-run news agency WAM reported. It was delivered through the Rafah crossing to the Palestinian Ministry of Health last week.
In a press statement, the Palestinian Health Ministry expressed gratitude to the UAE for this support remarking that this move strengthens health measures in the face of the Covid19 pandemic in the Gaza Strip. The first shipment was sent in February with 20,000 vaccines on board.
At the beginning of 2021, the UAE sent emergency relief assistance for 10,000 families in the Gaza Strip. Since 2010, the UAE has been relentlessly supporting Palestine, amounted to US$1.14 billion of which $254 million was for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The UAE is one of the largest donors to UNRWA, backing various sectors in the Palestinian territories.