Arab Nations Donate to International Aid Efforts

Arab countries are some of the most generous donors to humanitarian relief efforts, according to United Nations officials, reports the Associated Press.

Sixty percent of the money after last fall’s Pakistan earthquake came from the Muslim world, with much of it coming from the Persian Gulf region, said Omar Shehadeh, who oversees fund raising for Unicef in Dubai. Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates gave $100-million each to disaster relief after Hurricane Katrina, the Associated Press reports.

“There’s a lot of generosity in this region and we’re convinced it’s increasing,” said Ivo Freijsen, chief of the Dubai office of the U.N. Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.