n an atmosphere full of happiness and joy, a joint team from the Ministry of Health and Prevention, MoHAP, the Ministry of Community Development, and the Committee of Abstaining Families of the Dar Al-Ber Society distributed Eid gifts to 336 quarantined children at the quarantine buildings of MoHAP.

The move comes as part of the “Eid joy … we’ll never forget you” initiative and it aims to share the Eid joy with the children and to support them during these times. The initiative also reflects the bonds of solidarity and social cohesion.

For their part, the children and their families expressed their happiness with the initiative as it brings Eid atmosphere to them and it also reflects the solidarity of the government entities, hailing the efforts of medical staff and their keenness to enhance the positive spirit among them.

Promoting values of giving and social responsibility

Dr. Aisha Suhail, Director of the Primary Health Care Department, said: “The initiative, which is launched by MoHAP’s Maternal and Child Health section, reflects the meanings of social and humanitarian responsibility and it aims to promote values of giving and social solidarity, as part of MoHAP’s attention to children’s health and to alleviate the psychological burden on them and their families during their stay the quarantine.”

She pointed out the interaction of the children with the initiative was great, underlining that all those who are in quarantine, especially the children, are receiving outstanding health and psychological care.

Child Rights Law

Iman Harib, Director of Social Protection Department in the Ministry of Community Development, said: “This initiative comes as part of the child care, especially amid COVID-19. Our aim is to support children in quarantine and to help them overcome these challenging times, as this would help reinforce their determination to get through this crisis.”

She added that the initiative reflects the values of compassion that prevail in Emirati society in line with the article no. 4 of Wadeema’s law “Giving the child priority of protection, care, rescue and guidance in cases of emergencies, disasters, armed conflict and any crime committed against him/her”, and to keep pace with the country’s directions to ensure the quality of life for all its members, especially children.

Roles complementarity

Ali Hassan Al-Assi, Head of the Committee of Abstaining Families of the Dar Al-Ber Society, said: “At Dar Al-Ber, we believe in the complementarity of roles between the public entities and the associations of public benefit. For that reason, we cooperated with the Ministry of Health and Prevention and the Ministry of Community Development to support the children and to boost their mental health