Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister of United Arab Emirates, Ruler of Dubai
Logo
23 – 25 April 2024

Dubai World Trade Centre

Twitter
  • About Us
    • About DIHAD Event
    • Messages
    • DISAB
    • Event Summary
    • Why Attend
    • Event Testimonials
    • Waterfalls Initiative
    • FAQ’s
  • Conference
    • Concept Note
    • Conference Program
    • Conference Topics
    • UNOCHA Workshop
    • Past Conference Archives
  • Exhibition
    • Why Exhibit
    • Book Exhibition Space
    • Exhibitor Profile
    • Visitor Profile
    • Attend Innovation Workshop
    • 2023 Exhibitors List
  • Registration
  • DIHAD Hub
  • DIHAD Glasshouse
  • Media
    • Image Gallery
    • Video Gallery
    • News & Press Releases
    • Media Clips
    • Online Coverage
    • Humanity without borders
    • Media Contact
  • Hospitality
    • Accommodation
    • Tours and Activities
    • Visa Information
    • Fly Emirates
  • Contact Us
    • Contact – Exhibiting
    • Contact – Registration
    • DIHAD Cares
23 – 25 April 2024

Dubai World Trade Centre

Quick Links  
Quick Links
  • Registration
  • Exhibition and Sponsorship
  • DIHAD Hub – Match & Meet
  • 2024 Concept Note
  • Why Attend
  • Event Summary
  • 2023 Exhibitors
  • Contact – Exhibition
  • Contact – Registration

Messages

Home Messages

Dr. Abdul Salam Al Madani

H.E. Amb. Dr. Abdulsalam Al Madani

Chairman of DIHAD Sustainable Humanitarian Organisation; Roving Ambassador for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean for the GCC; Chairman of INDEX Holding

As we strive throughout our humanitarian platforms; the Dubai International Humanitarian Aid and Development Conference & Exhibition – DIHAD, to manage and direct all humanitarian actions towards creating a world that is more equitable and resilient, we make sure that we do not only provide temporary solutions to those who suffer from crisis and disasters, but also offer sustainable solutions where people can live happily within their families and communities for years to come.

In the face of unprecedented challenges, our collective determination to protect the vulnerable and build sustainable communities should remain our focus. Collaboration has always been the cornerstone of our progress, as we unite governments, organizations, and individuals, transcending borders and ideologies to forge partnerships that amplify our impact. In the future of humanitarian action, compassion will be our driving force, serving as a catalyst for positive change and inspiring a new generation of changemakers to join the noble quest of building a better world for all.

And while humanitarian actions are often thought of as a response to disasters and crisis, we at DIHAD look at the circumstances differently. We strive to foresee the humanitarian needs in the future in an aim to protect lives and livelihoods through taking solemn responsibility in humanitarian operations within affected areas and work on a sustainability strategy that outlines humanitarian efforts in the future.

There is no doubt that DIHAD has shaped the international humanitarian landscape and has been an instrumental part in the field of philanthropy where we provide a platform for global leaders in the field to connect, collaborate, and inspire one another to tackle the most pressing challenges we face in our missions to heal the world.

However, despite these overwhelming achievements, our mission is far from finished. More than 360 million people from around the world are still in need of humanitarian assistance and protection. Latest studies show that more than $55 billion is required to address everyone’s needs, however, only $8.5 billion is available. Moreover, the projected average investment for reaching the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals is between $5 to $7 trillion per year until the year 2030. Unless we unite and equally increase our efforts across all channels to meet these requirements, it will mark a devastating risk of global humanitarian efforts falling behind, costing us greater turmoil in the years ahead.

As we embark on this historic 20 years of remarkable solidarity, and under this year’s notable theme, ‘DIHAD 2004-2024: Humanitarian Diplomacy and a Journey to the Future,’ we repledge our commitments to sealing impactful relations and cooperation through advocacy, meaningful communication, and formal agreements that will influence the actions we take into the next generation. We live in a fast-paced society that requires cutting-edge technologies, tools, and solutions that transform the way aid is delivered and received. From drones that can distribute medical supplies in remote areas to virtual reality simulations that allow aid workers to experience crisis situations firsthand, we will showcase the future realm of the humanitarian sector and increase our efforts on a united front.

On behalf of the DIHAD Organisation, we thank all those who have helped and inspired change, and for their unwavering support that has shaped the essence of the DIHAD Conference and Exhibition, as we take honor in uplifting humanity with compassion and courage together.

H.E. Amb. Gerhard Putman-Cramer

H.E. Amb. Gerhard Putman-Cramer

Chief Executive Officer, DIHAD Sustainable Humanitarian Foundation

Humanitarian diplomacy is the activity that aims at ensuring that all concerned with humanitarian aid act in the interests of the intended beneficiaries, this in accordance with acknowledged humanitarian principles, human rights and International Humanitarian Law. While exact definitions vary, the activity in question most often consists of any or all of the following: a dialogue, written communications, negotiations and mediation. It is oftentimes undertaken to ensure the following: access to those in need of assistance and/or protection; the necessary financial and logistical mechanisms for such assistance to take place; the security of those receiving the aid and of those charged with its delivery. It is often essential in ensuring there is coordinated humanitarian action, information sharing, advocacy and impartiality.

As assistance requirements are evidently ever-increasing, this possibly in contrast to the levels of resources made available to meet them, so is the importance of humanitarian diplomacy. While enhancing access to humanitarian assistance in so-called “complex emergencies” has always been a challenge, it is clear that the number of these emergencies is growing, and that their complexity is often further amplified by new actors and diverging priorities. Now it can be argued that humanitarian diplomacy is a contradiction in terms, diplomacy being essentially a search for compromise while humanitarian action is wholly principled. In actual fact, a compromise arrived at on account of humanitarian diplomacy often enables principled actions to be effectively implemented. Special interests taken into account at the time of negotiations may well ensure the sustainability of arrangements arrived at. Then there is also the leverage of public opinion as well as support from other networks (which may well be the result of previous/parallel humanitarian diplomacy efforts).

Generally speaking, in regard to most countries who are prominent promoters of humanitarian engagement, we know that the humanitarian diplomacy activities they undertake are often motivated not only by values and principles, but also by geopolitics and economic interests. Looking at the UAE, one notes that since 2004 (the year Dubai first hosted the DIHAD Conference and Exhibition), the country not only has become a very generous donor in terms of both development assistance and humanitarian aid (it is in fact the world’s largest per capita aid provider), it has made the provision of aid an essential part of its foreign policy and indeed of its public image.

To illustrate agreements resulting from successful humanitarian diplomacy, we need only read our dailies or switch on our televisions; the so-called “grain agreement” in the Black Sea and the cease-fire in Ethiopia, which currently enables all parties in the conflict to receive urgently needed assistance, are two examples which underscore the vital importance of these initiatives.

At this time in the world’s history, we are collectively going through a growing multitude of crises. Climate Change seems to be intensifying both the number and the severity of natural disasters. The ever-increasing number of humanitarian emergencies cause us – at a time of financial instability and competing demands on what we hoped to be recovering economies – to also struggle with, inter alia, questionable energy sources, decreasing food supplies and ever-increasing migration flows.

It is in this light, while looking back at the themes of DIHAD events held over these last 20 years (and wanting to revisit some with new insights), that the International Scientific Advisory Board of the Foundation has decided to have, as the theme of DIHAD 2024 (our 20th edition):

“DIHAD 2004-2024: Humanitarian Diplomacy and a Journey to the Future”

Sessions will focus on Humanitarian Diplomacy in relation to Access and Human Security; to Climate Change; to People on the Move and to Global Health Challenges. Moreover, we will attempt to identify the links between Humanitarian Diplomacy, Leadership and New Actors as well as how Humanitarian Diplomacy can provide for a greater focus on the role and potential of both Women and Youth.

It is indeed of interest to examine whether humanitarian diplomacy, now further developed and more widely utilized, is making a real difference in the above-mentioned contexts. It is clear that, since 2004, we have collectively been changing our aid-related “methodologies”, this now undoubtedly requiring re-defined systemic structures and a possibly less HQ-guided country-based priority-setting and coordination mechanism, thus enabling specific local requirements to get more immediate and more effective attention.

At DIHAD 2024 we will once again gather friends and colleagues from national government authorities, international and non-governmental organizations, the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement, foundations and charities, academic institutions, the media and the private sector. As in all previous editions of the Conference, we will attempt to come up with a number of actionable agreed conclusions and recommendations.

On behalf of the International Scientific Advisory Board of the DIHAD Foundation, I am very pleased to invite you to attend the event’s 20th edition. We much look forward to welcoming you and to thank, on that occasion, all who have actively contributed to the acknowledged success of DIHAD events these last 20 years. We will also seize the opportunity to review and share the highlights of the Foundation’s activities, as these have developed.

Each edition of the unique annual DIHAD event, held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime-Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, highlights different aspects of our collective humanitarian aid and development endeavors. This year, we will try to coalesce landmark themes of events gone by, while introducing new perspectives to these through the prism of humanitarian diplomacy, thereby determined to further reinforce our combined ability to face the challenges of tomorrow. Moreover, the selected theme and related presentations as well as all interaction within and in the margins of the event, continue to enhance the knowledge that humanitarian and development actors have about each other, thereby ensuring greater understanding and clarity in regard to respective roles, capacities and mandates and further reinforcing the notion of effective coordinated action.

DIHAD 2024 promises to be a memorable event (and anniversary)!

Organised By :
INDEX Conferences & Exhibitions Organization L.L.C.
INDEX Conferences & Exhibitions Org. Est.

COPYRIGHT © 2023. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Shortage of ‘Human Resources for Health’ in Developing Countries

Supported by Noor Dubai

Subtitle:

The shortage of health workers in developing countries may undermine the attainment of the Sustainable development goals, universal health coverage and undermine control of epidemics/pandemics. So how do we improve the number and quality of health workers in developing countries?

Context:

The World Health Organization in its 2006 World Health Report reported that over 4 million more health workers are needed globally to prevent crisis in the health sector. Out of which Africa alone needs 1.5 million workers. Thus 36 of the 57 countries in the continent have critical shortages of human resources for health.

Globally all countries are challenged by worker shortage, skill mix imbalance, maldistribution, negative work environment, and weak knowledge base. However, it is worse in the poorest countries mostly of Africa and Asia where the workforce is under assault by HIV/AIDS, epidemics, out-migration, poor working environment, demotivation, undertraining and inadequate investment.

The critical shortage of health workers in developing world especially Africa is a major impediment to achievement of health/developmental goals, and could hinder the ability to control epidemics and pandemic outbreaks. In many developing countries this shortage not only affects provision of life saving interventions like childhood immunization, maternal services and prevention/treatment of the major infectious diseases –HIV, Malaria and Tuberculosis; but also hampers response to serious epidemics and pandemics like Ebola, Hemorrhagic fevers, Yellow fever and Covid-19. In addition to this the increasing aging population and change of life style in these developing countries results in rising burden of chronic diseases and non-communicable diseases like diabetes mellitus, hypertension, cancers etc needing more well trained health personnel’s and facilities.

This shortage is made worse within these countries by a vicious cycle of outbreaks of epidemics that further deplete the workforce and emigration of health workers to other parts of the world. The gross mal-distribution of the workers where by majority of health workers are in the urban areas but most of the population lives in rural areas in these countries, aggravates the situation. Furthermore the opportunities for continuous medical education and self-development is generally limited.

Thus, this human resource for health crisis in the developing countries especially Africa is not only about the quantity of the health workers and their distribution but also their quality. Due to weak educational systems and training facilities, occasioned by poor investment, health workers in many of these countries are not only inadequately trained but also lack the continuous medical education to handle emerging life threatening emergencies and chronic health conditions.

The crisis is partly caused by underfunding from governments due to competing developmental demands with very weak economies. This results in fewer ill-equipped training institutions, undertraining, under-recruitment, lack of facilities, demotivation, brain drain etc. The pull of higher salaries in industrialized countries and the push of poor working conditions at home along with political and social strife drive thousands of health workers to jobs abroad each year. This ever increasing brain drain from these poor weak countries to richer nations of the West and Middle East compound an already bad situation.

Challenge statement:

The SDG goal 3 (Ensuring health living and promoting wellbeing for all for all ages), the universal health coverage and ability to withstand epidemics and pandemics like Covid-19 cannot be achieved in many countries if the human resources for health crisis in these countries is not tackled.

So how can we address this gross shortage of health workers in developing countries especially Africa in terms of not only the number of the health workers, but their distribution and their expertise (knowledge and skills?). What innovative and technological approach can be applied to address this big challenge?

The digital literacy divide between e-learners: how to narrow the gaps?

Supported by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

Title: The digital literacy divide between e-learners: how to narrow the gaps?

Concept: In a world that everyone is using the digital sphere to communicate and learn, there is still a gap between the e-learners as some have high digital literacy while many still have more limited literacy.

MSF’s e-Learning team (TEMO) aims at reaching 95% of the organization’s staff and not only 25% with high digital literacy, access to computers, access to internet, etc.

Challenge: In this scenario and in order for all staff to have access to distance learning and eLearning Solutions like Tembo can offer, what are proposals and ideas to promote digital literacy for the e-learners to narrow the gaps?

Overcoming Challenges to the Inclusion of Beneficiaries with Disabilities in Emergencies

Supported by International Humanitarian City

Keywords: Emergency Preparedness & Response; Disabilities

Introduction:
IHC for the 2020 Humanitarian Hackathon decided to focus the attention on a group of vulnerable populations affected by Disabilities. The purpose of this challenge is to stimulate people to think outside the box and come up with possible innovative tools that the humanitarian community can offer to people exposed to emergencies and having different kinds of disabilities. In particular, mobility and communication/ability to attract attention are two crucial factors when it comes to the immediate aftermath of a disaster as well as the short and long-term living situation the affected disabled population may find themselves in. The purpose is to integrate and enrich the humanitarian prepositioned stocks with appropriated equipment and aid and therefore strengthen the emergency preparedness and have tools ready for their use in the response phase. The aim is to involve the Humanitarian Hackathon 2020 participants and transform their ideas in humanitarian aid for the benefit of the disabled. Looking at the list of the humanitarian relief items stocked within various humanitarian hubs it appears that no specific items are kept in stock specifically to support the differently-abled living in areas affected by disasters.

Scenarios:
The most frequent emergency scenarios are due to natural disasters such as floods, Tsunamis, Earthquake, cyclones, volcano eruptions, fire-forest etc…in addition to conflict areas. Hackathon participants are invited to think about the disabled population in those scenarios, and particularly, how the disabled can attract rescue teams or humanitarian workers providing assistance. Options for innovative solutions may focus on preventive measures, especially for the populations most exposed to risks and living in prone and hazard areas and subject to frequent natural disasters. Other innovative solutions may focus more on the immediate response following disasters when the affected population is forced to vacate their accommodation, which is appropriately equipped for their disability and moved into newer and less familiar areas. How can we help them?

Below are some tips for the various potential disabilities.

Suggestions:

  • Overall, items that could be useful to most disability categories could be:
  • A Tools to attract attention (which can be distributed to all vulnerable people affected)
  • A disability-friendly app
  • Stool bags compatible with a foldable wheelchair toilet seat
  • Clear masks for lip-reading for the rescue teams
Improving Small Farmers Access to Knowledge About Crop Production Techniques through E-Agriculture

Supported by International Humanitarian City

In several humanitarian response areas, are blessed with diverse climatic conditions for almost all crops (cereal, fruit and vegetable crops), besides ample opportunity to grow high value vegetables as off season in certain zones and pristine climatic niches as well production of certain fruits and vegetables seedling in low, high and walk in tunnels.

Moreover, there is also immense scope of growing short duration vegetable in three successive seasons i.e. summer, winter and autumn such as tomato, broccoli and potato. The small farmers in general are neither aware of the opportunities of effective utilization of their physical , financial and human resources nor know the ways and means to utilize their available resources. Thus they follow the hit and trial rules to grow crops which often incur heavy losses to them.

DISTANCE LEARNING CHALLENGES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES IN A POST COVID-19 WORLD

Supported by Dubai Cares

COVID-19 exacerbated pre-existing gaps in Developing Countries, which were already strained, underserved and faced significant tech capacity limitations, causing serious learning disruptions.

Context

The world has been brought to a standstill by the impact of COVID-19. Airports, restaurants, movie theaters and other elements of the social environment have been disrupted by this virus’ contagion. While watching movies and dining in public are not essential to our lives, work and education are.

Education systems and learning have been heavily disrupted by COVID-19. At its apex, school closures reached over 180 countries. Currently, according to the UNESCO Education Impact Tracker, there are still 34 country wide school closures and over half a billion affected child learners. “The medium and long-term implications of the learning crisis [has] forced 1.6 billion learners worldwide out of the classroom” (UNESCO). This is especially true for education in developing countries, which were already facing poor economic conditions while also coping with low literacy, numeracy, enrollment and proficiency.

In July, UNESCO estimated “that about 24 million learners, from pre-primary to university level, are at risk of not returning to school in 2020 following the education disruption due to COVID-19. Almost half of them are found in South and West Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. University students are affected the most, due to the costs related to their studies. Pre-primary education is the second most affected while at primary and secondary level 10.9 million students are at risk, 5.2 million of whom are girls.”

As closures forced students and parents home, the need for connectivity and hardware arose. “Today half of the world’s population (3.6 billion people) still lack an internet connection.” Many countries with low economic development and lack of connectivity, adapted via national broadcasts over TV and Radio, “yet the benefits of internet-based solutions vis-à-vis radio and TV solutions are considerable: connected digital technologies allow for the possibility of two-way communication, real-time interaction, gamified learning, and much more. Investments poured into efforts to make digital tools the principal hubs of learning, rather than brick-and-mortar school sand classrooms” (UNESCO).

“According to UN estimates, nearly 500 million students from pre-primary to upper secondary school did not have any access to any remote learning. Three quarters of these students lived in the poorest households or rural areas. More nuanced data showed finer disparities that traced and functioned to accentuate existing social, economic, gender and geographic fault lines. Analysis from Brookings shows that at the height of school closures, around 90 percent of high-income countries were providing some form of online remote learning, but only 25 per cent of low-income countries were doing the same” (UNESCO).

 

One of the flagship innovations responding to this at a global level is GIGA, an initiative launched by UNICEF and ITU in September 2019 to connect every school to the Internet and every young person to information, opportunity and choice. GIGA is supporting the immediate response to COVID-19, as well as looking at how connectivity can create stronger infrastructures of hope and opportunity in the “time after COVID.” The main objective of GIGA is to connect 2 million schools and 500 million children by 2025 and 5 million schools and 1 billion children by 2030, via funding of local infrastructure entrepreneurs and open source digital public goods.

Lastly, the long term effects of diminished education is worth considering, as “the World Bank has projected the financial cost of this learning loss to be as high as USD $10 trillion or 10% of global gross domestic product” (UNESCO). The human and economic impact of stunted education will ripple through the next decade as less educated students, workers and citizens will enter a world that is simultaneously regressing (climate change) and rapidly evolving (technology). Those that are already economically disadvantaged are at greater risk of getting left behind even more.

Challenge Statement:

As discussed above, distance learning is not always feasible due to low prevalence of connectivity and hardware in developing nations and economies, where the population is less able to purchase cell phones and laptops, while the public and private sectors are less likely to build connectivity infrastructure such as cell towers and Wi-Fi access points.

  • How can distance learning solutions be delivered to low income / remote / rural areas with low hardware saturation and lack of internet access so as not to exclude them from education services and systems they were already underserved by?
  • Think of innovative*, feasible and scalable solutions for learning disruption in developing countries

Things to keep in mind for solution design and review criteria:

  • Developing contexts often have limited access to transportation, clean water and sanitation
  • *Innovation does not necessarily mean very high tech and revolutionary. Sometimes the most innovative thing is using or reformulating something basic and abundant in a new and low cost way
  • Reflect on the sustainability of the design, as many solutions end up collecting dust after initial investment and intervention
  • Think through the replicability and scalability of the solution for global reach in similar environments
  • Contemplate potential cross-sectorial collaboration (telecom, government, and academia)
  • Consider the operational part of it: how is it going to work, under what umbrella, with what organizational or collaborative structure
  • Deliberate on the Who and How of funding your solution
Water Scarcity and Accessibility to Clean Water

Supported by UAE Water Aid

The UAE Water Aid Foundation, Suqia, under the umbrella of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, works diligently to provide clean and safe drinking water to communities in dire need and that lack basic access to water. Thus, Suqia contributes directly to Goal 6, Clean Water & Sanitation, of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It also has important contributions to goals 1 (no poverty), 3 (good health and well-being), 4 (quality education), 5 (gender equality) and 17 (partnerships for the goals).

Access to clean and safe water remains one of the most critical challenges faced by many around the world. While governments and societies work together to provide solutions to communities in need, the number of those who lack access to basic drinking water services continues to increase till date. According to recent statistics, the figure has reached a staggering 785 million in 2019. In many communities, people spend up to 6 hours each day collecting water. Not only does walking long distances while carrying 20 liters of water cause severe health issues, but it also keeps children out of school and wastes time that families could be using to earn an income.

Utilizing various solutions including artesian wells, water purification stations, water filters, water distribution networks and others, we were able to provide clean drinking water for more than 13 million people in 36 countries around the world.

The main challenge is in providing communities that need it the most. Often these communities are in remote locations difficult to get to and may be overseen in search of the places that require access to clean drinking water.

Although, the water infrastructure is not available, tele-communication networks are often available.

How can we utilize the tele-communication networks or mobile applications to support our goal of reaching out to communities in need? We are looking for a solution that would be easy to use where individuals can pin-point locations globally that face water shortage and lack easy access to clean drinking water. The solution would ideally identify the type of need in the area, the water quality, the approximate number of people living in the area, etc ..