UAE steps up efforts to tackle global hunger

The UAE has stepped up its efforts to tackle hunger and malnutrition worldwide this year, through humanitarian aid, international partnerships and investment in agricultural innovation.

The update comes on World Food Day, which is marked on October 16.

The Edge of Life campaign, launched in February by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, raised more than AED 2.8 billion from over 44,000 donors. The campaign, which aims to save five million children from dying of hunger, nearly tripled its AED 1 billion target.

The Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI), UNICEF and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation have since announced a $300 million partnership to expand life-saving nutrition programmes.

The UAE has also provided a $20 million grant to the World Food Programme (WFP) for people affected by the conflict in Sudan, $8 million to Chad to tackle hunger linked to the El Niño weather pattern, and 30 tonnes of food aid to drought-hit families in Kenya.

Food aid has also been delivered to Gaza by land, sea and air under Operation Chivalrous Knight 3.

In April, the UAE was elected to the WFP’s Executive Board for 2026 to 2028, giving it a role in shaping international efforts to fight hunger.

At home, the country’s trade in food and agricultural products reached $41.8 billion in 2025, while Dubai’s Food Tech Valley has attracted $50 billion in investment in technologies such as vertical and hydroponic farming.

The UAE is working towards its National Food Security Strategy 2051, which aims to make the country a global leader in food security.