RIYADH, 9 August — On the instructions of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd, a Saudia cargo plane carrying relief materials, including foodstuffs and 100,000 doses of meningitis vaccine, took off from the King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh for the drought-stricken west African country of Burkina Faso yesterday.
“On behalf of the government and the people of Burkina Faso, I thank King Fahd and his government,” said Mamdou Sangare, charge d’affaires at the Burkina Faso Embassy.
“The Kingdom has also informed us that more than 100 tons of foodstuffs packed in 4,166 cartons will be shipped to Ouagadougou shortly.”
Sangare clarified that his country is facing severe drought, not flooding, as previously stated in Arab News.
Supplies sent by the Kingdom will alleviate the suffering of a large number of people living in remote villages, which have been affected by drought, a lack of drinking water and an outbreak of meningitis.
Sangare also thanked the United Arab Emirates and Qatar for sending relief supplies.
The Kingdom has been helping Burkina Faso following the outbreak of meningitis. A growing number of children and adults are suffering from fever, headache, sore throat and vomiting — all common symptoms of meningitis.
Referring to the efforts of Saudi Arabia to ensure the availability of drinking water in Burkina Faso on a regular basis, the diplomat said that the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) has undertaken a project to dig a number of wells in his country. This is in addition to several infrastructure projects, including a dam, funded by the SFD over the past decade.
Burkina Faso has also received SR19 million in 1999 from SFD to execute a major water supply project.
The total SFD funding made available by the Kingdom to African countries including Burkina Faso exceeds SR11 billion, and there are several other projects in the pipeline.
The Kingdom is also funding the construction of three mosques in Burkina Faso.
This is in addition to the assistance provided by the Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB), which recently released SR75 million to implement another water supply project near the capital city of Ouagadougou.
Burkina Faso’s Minister of Higher Education, Laya Sauuadogo, will head an education delegation due to arrive in Riyadh on Aug. 18.
The minister will hold talks with senior Saudi officials on several joint projects in the education sector. The visit follows an invitation from Higher Education Minister Dr. Khaled Al-Anqari.
The total funding made available to the African countries, including Burkina Faso, exceeded SR12 billion last year, and Saudi Arabia has also been playing a leading role in sustaining and promoting Afro-Arab relations. But there is still scope to boost Saudi-African trade, which presently totals only $2.2 billion annually.
