January 26, 2022 – Ahead of the commemoration of World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day which occurs on January 30, Al Ansari Exchange, the UAE-based foreign exchange and worldwide money transfer company, has donated AED 250,0000 to The Reach Campaign. The Reach Campaign is a fundraising initiative launched to help put an end to neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) in the Middle East and Africa region. The donation brings the company’s total contribution to the initiative to AED 3.25 million this year. 

Proceeds from the Reach Campaign will go to the Reaching the Last Mile Fund (RLMF) that is being hosted by the multi-donor platform, The END Fund. The RLMF initiative aims to eliminate preventable diseases affecting the most vulnerable communities worldwide, as driven by the personal commitment of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

Mohamed Ali Al Ansari, Chairman of Al Ansari Exchange, said: “We are happy to see that the global community is now paying wider attention to NTDs. We are confident that this increased attention will mobilize more businesses across sectors to donate to the RLMF initiative, which aims to free over a billion people from these diseases by 2030.”

“This is not the first time that we are joining hands with the RLMF, and it is not going to be the last. We will continue to help establish a more humane and caring global society according to our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programs,” he added.  

Tala Al Ramahi, Acting Managing Director for the Reach Campaign, said: “World NTD Day is an opportunity for our valued partners to support us in not only raising awareness of NTDs, but to also translate that awareness into action. We are grateful to Al Ansari Exchange for their generous donation to the campaign and their continued commitment to supporting communities that are affected by NTDs. As we come together to call for global action on World NTD Day, we also celebrate partnerships, like those with Al Ansari Exchange, that are vital to helping us see the end of these diseases.”

NTDs are responsible for thousands of preventable deaths each year and can cause impairments that perpetuate the cycle of poverty by keeping millions of adults out of work and children out of school. Complicating efforts towards progress, COVID-19 has further compounded the impact of NTDs on communities over the past years. One out of every five people in the world are impacted by NTDs today.

The donation comes just ahead of World NTD Day, a global movement that aims to galvanize the global health community and engage the public in the urgent effort to end neglected tropical diseases. This year, global civil society advocates, community leaders, global health experts, and policymakers united to draw attention to this group of communicable diseases that are preventable and treatable, yet continue to affect more than 1.7 billion people worldwide, including 1 billion children.

Al Ansari Exchange’s donation to The Reach Campaign is the latest in its string of CSR initiatives designed to bring aid to communities in need globally.