Prince Turki bin Talal honored with relief award

Prince Turki bin Talal has been designated as the Arab Personality for Relief Activities for his distinguished service in the field humanitarian service.
The Arab Hospitals Federation awarded the honor to the prince at a meeting in Cairo on Thursday.
The federation, which has a membership of 1,000 hospitals in the Arab world, honored the prince in recognition of the services of his organization called “We Answer to the Call initiative” over the past 10 years. It has been undertaking impressive humanitarian activities in Palestine and Lebanon besides its services to the Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.
The meeting coincided with the meeting of the Council of Arab Health Ministers, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday.
On the occasion of receiving the award, the prince said his initiative went beyond offering relief assistance to building bridges of relations that extend to the sustainable development.
He said the initiative aims to strengthen the principle of helping suffering humanity driven forward by the principle that ‘negligence to help while you can is tantamount to is a betrayal and sin.’
The initiative involves voluntary service of Saudi and Arab volunteers and their supporting partners who believe in the principle of social responsibility. He added that the AGFUND program is in the forefront of their services.
He stressed the need for launching an Arab organization for relief with the approval of international organizations and free from bureaucratic hurdles.
The prince also lamented the poor level of Arab relief assistance which is not enough to deal with calamities compared to the services of united nation’s and international organizations working professionally in this field and stressed the need for a will to make Arabs a dependable force in the world of humanitarian activities.