Over 100 projects worth millions of dollars under UAE-Pakistan Assistance Programme (UAE-PAP), focusing on major areas of social development including health, education, water and infrastructure have been completed which are significantly contributing to the development of these sectors.
On January 12, 2011, the UAE-PAP was launched to help and provide assistance to Pakistan and mitigate the impact of floods by redeveloping infrastructure, as per the directives of Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the United Arab Emirates. The UAE-PAP has worked along a comprehensive redevelopment plan that takes into account the harsh geography and the rough weather conditions of the region.
According to a report of the UAE-PAP, the program includes the building and equipping of 53 state-of-the-art educational projects, 43 schools and 10 colleges. These projects will benefit around 30,000 male and female students in all educational levels. As part of the UAE's endeavour to develop higher and academic education in Pakistan, 10 male and female colleges were built and supplied with state-of-the-art teaching aid and high-tech scientific and computer labs, in addition to technical and mechanical workshops for practical training. The UAE project to Assist Pakistan has accomplished 47 world-class schools and institutes and handed them over to the local authorities in Khyber Pakhtunkhawa.
The Program embraces the building, equipping and maintenance of 7 hospitals and clinics in Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa and South Waziristan. Two of these, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Hospital and Sheikha Fatima bin Mubarak Hospital, are specialised maternity and paediatric hospitals to provide health-care and emergency services for women and children.
With the aim of providing clean water and protecting people against diseases and epidemics, about 64 drinking water supply projects have been accomplished, 44 of them in Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa and 20 in the South of Waziristan region.
Sheikh Khalifa Bridge has been rebuilt over Swat River damaged by flood. The 330-metre bridge serves 70 thousand persons which represents an architectural icon and a tourist destination with its unique design that resembles Abu Dhabi's Al Maqta' Bridge and its historic fort.
Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Road, funded by Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, is one of the most important infrastructure projects in the South Waziristan. It is a strategic vein stretching from the city of Wana to Angor Adda. The 50-kilometers road, with its 5 over passing bridges, is of strategic importance for transportation between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Bridge on Swat River was also rebuilt destroyed by the floods. The 448-metre bridge is considered the most important bridge in Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa and a vital crossing for the people there as it joins 15 cities with 45 villages on Swat river banks.
According to the report, a vaccination campaign, in which 20,000 children were immunised against measles and polio, was implemented in Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa. The humanitarian drive aimed at curbing the negative health effects caused by floods and natural disasters, in addition to supporting the global efforts and initiatives to eliminate measles and polio.
The initiative underlines Sheikh Khalifa's determination to extend assistance to students so as to get learning facilities in an ideal environment. UAE President's directive has brought to life modern educational facilities worth US $27.6 million accommodating up to 28,000 students.
To provide assistance to the people of Pakistan and to support technical and vocational educational, UAE-PAP has built a Technical College at Bajaur at a total cost of US $3.4 million. A number of projects have been implemented in support of the healthcare sector in Pakistan, including construction, refurbishment and maintenance of 7 hospitals and clinics, of which, two model hospitals; the Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Hospital and the Sheikha Fatima bin Mubarak Hospital, will be built in KP at a total cost of US $17 million.
The UAE Project to Assist Pakistan has announced the completion and delivery of 64 water projects at a cost of $5.774 million in Khyber-Pakhtunkhawa and the Southern region of Pakistan. The water supply schemes are based on tube well and spring well mechanism. Within a year, all schemes have been completed and are functional providing clean water at every doorstep.
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