The Permanent Mission of Qatar in Geneva has opened the induction course on the International Humanitarian System organised by Qatar and the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Geneva. The course which started on July 1 is on till the 5th.
In his opening address, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Partnerships with the Middle East and Central Asia Rashid Khalikov referred to the enormous challenges posed by the humanitarian landscape to the multilateral humanitarian system and said that there are indications that more than 14mn people need assistance, and that the total needs of the community exceeds $25bn.
He stressed that OCHA could not develop and provide this programme without the generous support of Qatar, adding that the country's generosity and continued humanitarian response is commendable.
Qatar, through this programme, once again expressed its continued support for the multilateral humanitarian system, Khalikov said.
For his part, Deputy Permanent Representative of Qatar to the UN in Geneva Abdullah al-Nuaimi said that the world is facing the worst humanitarian crisis, which makes it impossible for one organisation or one country to respond to the magnitude of these crises.
Qatar believed that the efforts of all countries and actors should be united through the best available platform for this issue, which is the multilateral humanitarian system, he added.
Al-Nuaimi noted that Qatar's foreign assistance for the period from 2013 to 2017 amounted to QR23bn ($6.3bn) and included more than 140 countries in partnership with the United Nations and many international and regional organisations, thus becoming the seventh major donor to OCHA. He also noted that Qatar will chair the OCHA Donor Support Group next year.
Participants in the course expressed thanks and appreciation to Qatar for its support and funding for this important session in promoting international humanitarian action. They also thanked the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) for its organisational and logistical efforts.
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