UAE aid helps Socotra development

UAE aid helps Socotra development

Development aid provided to the remote Yemeni governorate of Socotra by the UAE has made a major impact in terms of improving the life of the local population, according to a report made available to the Emirates News Agency, WAM.

The report provides an overview of assistance co-ordinated by the Abu Dhabi-based Sheikh Khalifa Humanitarian Foundation, but does not include humanitarian aid directly provided by the Emirates Red Crescent following three devastating cyclones, Megh and Chapala, in 2015, and Mekunu in 2018.

Around 240 km. east of Somalia and 380 km. south of the coastline of Yemen, Socotra has an estimated population of around 70,000, most of whom live on the island of Socotra itself, which accounts for around 95 per cent of the governorate. Several hundred people live on the small islands of Abd el Kuri and Samha, to the west.

In this article, the first of two, WAM examines some of the developments overseen by the Sheikh Khalifa Foundation in terms of infrastructure.

One key area of activity has been the provision of electric power, with a new power station being built in the capital, Hadibu, and other smaller stations in the towns of Qalansiya, Mori and Alama. In Hadibu and Qalansiya,