COVID-19 volunteers clock up 68,000 hours in Dubai

Volunteers on Dubai's "The Future is Proud of Our Health" inititiative have completed more than 68,000 hours and saved over AED 5.304 million.

The announcement was made by the emirate's Community Development Authority (CDA).

The programme was launched by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) in Februrary 2020, with the participation of over 250 volunteers from the "Nabdh Al Emarat" volunteer team registered at the CDA.

The initiative is part of the coronavirus response scheme run by the Dubai Volunteering Programme, which registered over 1,065 initiatives last year, requiring over 289,504 voluntary hours.

It aimed to support the national vaccination campaign in eight locations including Dubai Mall, Dubai International Airport, the Al Mizhar Centre, Nadd Al Hamar Health Centre, Al Barsha Hall, Hor Al Anz and Al Lisaili.

The volunteers were trained to perform several key duties at the vaccination centres. This involved checking visitors' temperature and blood pressure, as well as organisational task like registration and ensuring adherence to the precautionary measures.

Huraiz Al Mur bin Huraiz, CEO of Development and Social Care Sector at the CDA, stated that the conditions associated with the coronavirus pandemic helped attract growing numbers of volunteers, noting that the number registered at the CDA since the start of the Dubai Volunteering Programme until the end of 2020 amounted to 30,458 people from different nationalities.

"In 2020, 1,065 volunteer initiatives were registered as part of the CDA’s Dubai Volunteering Programme, and total volunteer hours amounted to 289,504, saving over AED 22,581,312," he added.