HH Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, today launched of one of the largest development and community foundations in the world, covering 1,400 programmes.

The new foundation will be called the "Mohammed Bin Rashid Global Initiatives".

The foundation consolidates the work of 28 organisations focusing on fighting poverty and illness, spreading knowledge and culture, empowering the community and driving innovation. Combined, the foundation's initiatives will implement over 1,400 human development programmes in more than 116 countries around the world, said a statement.

It will target over 130 million people over the coming years and will focus its programmes on the Arab region. It will also launch the largest comprehensive development programme in the Arab region focusing on human development in an integrated manner starting with providing the basic human needs from health, fighting illiteracy and poverty through to providing knowledge, the dissemination of culture and the development of education.

The foundation will also work in parallel on developing a new generation of young Arab leaders, supporting real change in the area of good governance in the region and providing the largest incubator for Arab innovators, scientists and researchers.

The primary basic goals of the new foundation focus on four main sectors: fighting poverty; dissemination of knowledge; community empowerment and innovation for the future.- TradeArabia News Service