Saudi-UN Cooperation in Yemen to Carry Out Environmental Reforms, Combat Cholera

Saudi-UN Cooperation in Yemen to Carry Out Environmental Reforms, Combat Cholera
TT

Saudi-UN Cooperation in Yemen to Carry Out Environmental Reforms, Combat Cholera

Saudi-UN Cooperation in Yemen to Carry Out Environmental Reforms, Combat Cholera

King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) on Monday signed two projects with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

The projects were signed by Advisor at the Royal Court and General Supervisor of KSRelief Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Rabeeah and UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Khairat Kabalari.

The first project aims to fight cholera, rehabilitate household water tanks, provide potable water and chlorination for disinfection, qualify water systems, build and qualify toilets and get rid of solid waste.

While the second one covers providing vaccines against polio, measles, rubella, mumps, whooping cough, tetanus, meningitis, hepatitis B and diphtheria diseases for children under the age of five, benefiting around 1.14 million children.

It aims at reducing morbidity and mortality due to vaccine-preventable diseases, improving the health status of children in Yemen and decreasing the spread of these diseases.

Approximately 390,000 children under age one will be vaccinated against the nine diseases and 750,000 children under five will be immunized against measles and rubella.

The project also covers the training of 2,000 male and female health workers, organizing 600 house visits, implementing health education and distributing one million explanatory brochures.

Rabeeah said that the projects cover all Yemeni areas and follow the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, who provided $66 million to combat cholera.

Kabalari, for his part, said that KSRelief is an important partner in the relief work in Yemen and is doing clear and positive work.

He pointed out that this partnership has been made between the two sides three years ago to meet the needs of children in need in several countries including Yemen, Syria and Bangladesh.

The projects will help fight cholera in Yemen and put an end to the suffering of millions of children, Kabalari stressed.



Syrian Christians Celebrate Christmas in Damascus Amid Tight Security

An aerial picture shows a view of a crowd around a Christmas tree in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)
An aerial picture shows a view of a crowd around a Christmas tree in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)
TT

Syrian Christians Celebrate Christmas in Damascus Amid Tight Security

An aerial picture shows a view of a crowd around a Christmas tree in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)
An aerial picture shows a view of a crowd around a Christmas tree in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)

Syrian Christians gathered at churches in the country's capital Damascus on Wednesday amid tight security measures to celebrate their first Christmas after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

"Today there is a large deployment of security to protect the churches, fearing sabotage, but things are normal," Nicola Yazgi told dpa, while attending a mass in eastern Damascus.

Security forces affiliated with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is now leading Syria's interim government, were deployed outside churches and in the streets in Christian-majority neighborhoods in the capital, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

According to the UK-based war monitor, churches across Syria - including in the southern city of al-Sweida, and in the northern cities of Aleppo and Idlib - opened their doors for Christmas celebrations.

Yazgi said he was celebrating two things this year: "Christmas and the victory of the revolution and the fall of the tyrant. We hope that today will be the day of salvation from the era of al-Assad family injustices."

Suad al-Zein, an engineer, also joined the mass in Damascus. She expressed her joy despite the lack of decorations in the streets: "For us, joy is in our hearts."

Civil war broke out in Syria in 2011 following pro-democracy protests against al-Assad's regime.

In late November, HTS and other opposition groups launched a rapid offensive, making major territorial gains before capturing Damascus earlier this month. Al-Assad fled to Russia with his family.

Since then, HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has tried to reassure minorities in Syria, promising moderation and respect for all religious sects.

A group of people burnt a Christmas tree in Hama province on Monday evening, prompting hundreds of protesters to take to the streets in several cities.