Gulf countries and their charities not publicised enough

Talking to IRIN during his first visit to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Jan Egeland said that too often humanitarian aid was associated with the West, adding that Gulf countries gave 94 per cent of their assistance directly to countries needing it. IRIN quotes Mr Egeland as saying:

"The Gulf region was among the most generous in the world. They are excellent at providing water and sanitation, very effective and quick.

All the important work that the Gulf countries and their various charities are doing is not well enough recognized, in particular in the West."

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SINCE WHEN WAS THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES AT THE CENTRE OF THE RELIEF WORLD?

Dubai, city of gold souks and luxury hotels, gateway to the Gulf, hub of humanitarianism... Er, did someone say "humanitarianism"?

Read more by AlertNet's Tim Large who is blogging the Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development (DIHAD) Conference and Exhibition.
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GLOBAL AID CONFERENCE IN DUBAI APRIL 10-12

Keynote address by Jan Egeland at DIHAD 2006. - via ReliefWeb April 10.

Apr 10 2006 UN News Centre UN relief chief calls on Middle East to channel more aid through United Nations