Attachments
National Societies of countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) area are served by IFRC's cluster office in Dubai.
In order of population these are Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain. There has never been a national society in Oman. This 2019 plan focuses on capacity-building and technical assistance opportunities that exist within the Federation, offering a menu of options while seeking funds that could help GCC National Societies make the most of ties within the IFRC and further expand the role on the global stage.
The population of the five countries totals over 50M. With a GDP per capita of over USD 64,000 in PPP terms, it is among the world's wealthiest regions. This, coupled with strong humanitarian ideals means that the countries are also leading humanitarian donors, with GCC National Societies often serving their governments as leading arms for bilateral international humanitarian assistance. With donations in the billions of dollars annually, both UAE and Saudi Arabia vie for the top of the list of top 10 donors of Humanitarian Aid (UN Financial Tracking Service). Qatar’s international aid has greatly expanded in recent years, with a strong regional focus. Kuwait is among the largest global donors on a per-capita basis.
IFRC provides logistics support through its Dubai-based hub, which is part of Dubai’s International Humanitarian City of (IHC) and is supported by Dubai and Federal UAE governments. Described as the world’s largest and busiest logistics hub for humanitarian aid, it is home to operations for more than 55 non-governmental organizations. IFRC has also benefited from Emirates charter flights and office space in the IHC. Such in-kind support amounts to many millions of Francs and has been invaluable in IFRC being able to support its membership in rapid emergency response, saving lives and mitigating the harm caused by disasters. GCC governments have not typically supported multilateral IFRC programmes directly with cash. Notable contributions include CHF 1M for the 2016 Yemen annual plan from the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre and USD 300k for support to Governance and Management services (including the 2015 GMM.