'One Billion Meals' 2023: UAE Vice President Launches Initiative To Help Vulnerable In 50 Countries

UAE Vice President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum unveiled the "One Billion Meals" initiative on Monday, ahead of the 2023 Ramadan.

In a tweet, the Dubai ruler said the UAE government launches the initiative every year as a sustainable means to secure food aid for communities suffering from hunger.

"Brothers and sisters, as per our annual tradition at the start of the holy month, we are pleased to announce the launch of the 'One Billion Meals' endowment project in Ramadan," said Sheikh Mohammed in a campaign video he posted on Twitter. "Our goal is to provide hundreds of millions of meals in a sustainable way for decades to come through this endowment project, ensuring ongoing charity for the people of the UAE and uninterrupted goodness, God willing."

"One out of every ten people in the world suffers from hunger," he captioned the video. "Our human, moral, and Islamic duty, especially during the month of fasting, is to help the needy."

The goal of this year's initiative was to provide food to vulnerable populations in 50 countries across the world as part of the UAE's contributions to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 2, which aimed to end hunger by 2030, the National News reported.

This was a significant development from last year's campaign, which provided food aid to displaced individuals from 13 countries, including Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, India, Angola, Lebanon, and Uganda.

The UAE kick-started the initiative in 2020, when it aimed to secure 10 million meals for underserved communities around the world. The country was able to secure 15.3 million meals at the time, with donations coming from over 115 nations worldwide.

In 2021, the country was able to secure donations from nearly 400,000 individuals, companies, and philanthropists from 51 countries, and produce 220 million meals. The following year, the UAE targeted a billion meals and managed to hit the target in less than a month after the launch.

This year's "One Billion Meals" will officially start on the first day of Ramadan, and will wrap up when the target is hit. Individuals and companies, who are interested to participate in the drive may pledge money online or via SMS message through Etisalat or Du, the DubaiNow app, or through a bank transfer.