Dubai-based beauty influencer Huda Kattan was among the high-profile donors, with a gift of $272,000.

"It's hard to believe that in today's world, in 2021, we're still dealing with huge issues of hunger and malnutrition and that every 10 seconds, a child dies because of hunger,” multi-millionaire Kattan told fans in a video posted on social media.

Several other Hollywood stars and international sporting figures – including Will Smith, Cristiano Ronaldo, Eva Longoria, Roger Federer, Boris Becker, and Amir Khan – backed the fundraising effort, by donating or signing items for the auction.

UAE corporates also gave generously. Among the leading donors were Dubai Electricity and Water Authority ($5.4m); Al Rostamani Group ($2.7m); Emirates Islamic Bank, Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), and Sankari Investment Group (all $1.3m).

Thanks to the additional boost from the auction, which is continuing to accept online bids for some items until the end of April, the total amount raised could be as much as double the original $27m (AED100m) target.

Mohammed Souhil Al Muhairi, executive director of the Dar Al Ber Society, a government-backed nonprofit which has also donated $5.4m to the campaign, said the initiative “embodied the UAE’s commitment to its core values of giving” and that the country’s leadership “has paved the way for an effective and sustainable implementation of philanthropy”.

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Humanitarian and Charity Establishment, which has itself given $5.4m, is overseeing the food distribution, in partnership with the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP), the Food Banking Regional Network (FBRN), and other organisations in the region.

In some countries, families are receiving pre-packed food parcels containing basic items such as rice, oil, beans, and flour, along with sanitary items to protect them against Covid-19, including masks and soap. Elsewhere, people will be given cash or vouchers to buy their own food.

As one of the implementing partners, WFP has been allocated $5m to support 200,000 people across Jordan, Bangladesh, and Palestine.

“This campaign is really coming at the right time,” Abdel Mageed Yahia, GCC representative for WFP told Philanthropy Age.

Describing the funding as a “lifeline”, he said: “We had been struggling, especially in Jordan, and we were due to cut rations owing to funding gaps, which really would have been a disaster during the month of Ramadan.”

Yahia said the $5m would pay for food vouchers for Syrian refugees living inside camps in Jordan for a month, as well as vouchers for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, and impoverished Palestinians in the West Bank for two months.

Egyptian philanthropist Moez El Shohdi, a co-founder of the Egyptian Food Bank and initiator of the FBRN, which will receive $12m to spend in 13 countries, also welcomed the UAE’s initiative.

“This is not just extra funding, this is very significant extra funding,” he said.  “It’s a very important boost to receive this during the month of Ramadan, but we really want to continue after Ramadan, and I hope we can expand to more countries as well.

El Shohdi said the Dubai-based FBRN, which now spans 30 countries since its launch in 2013, had signed a one-year agreement with the MBRGI. This would go beyond delivering just food aid, he said, and include capacity building, training, and education, as well as the other pillars of the FBRN such as volunteering, NGO partnering, sustainable investment, and reduction of food waste.

“We must feed people during Ramadan,” El Shohdi explained. “But after that, we need to help them get opportunities to make their own income so they can build better lives for themselves.” - PA