The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has approved funding of $800,000 for the International Medical Corps (IMC), a leading global first responder, to deliver emergency relief through the 78 health facilities it supports across Yemen, including 10 mobile medical units.

The Gates Foundation’s grant will be used to fund the distribution of trauma kits, medications, medical consumables and food supplements to these facilities in Yemen, said a statement.

Hassan Al-Damluji, head of Middle East Relations at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said: “The situation for many people in Yemen has been troubling for several years. Right now the humanitarian needs are vast. This grant will help IMC to deliver water, supplies and medicines as well as various forms of primary and mental health care for the chronically ill, and secondary and surgical care for victims of trauma and conflict-related injuries.

“At the Gates Foundation, we look forward to a time in the near future where real development work can begin, so that we can move from the stage of emergency support, to long term projects that can lift ordinary Yemenis out of poverty.”

Guided by the belief that all lives have equal value, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, it focuses on improving people’s health and giving them the chance to lift themselves out of hunger and extreme poverty.

Over recent years the Foundation has expanded its work in the Middle East, partnering with other donors and development institutions in the GCC.

Last June, Bill Gates and Islamic Development Bank president Dr Ahmed Mohammed Ali announced the intention to work together over the coming years to build a development fund of unprecedented scale for the Muslim world. - TradeArabia News Service