Mohammed bin Rashid launches 11.5: Edge of Life Ramadan campaign to rescue 5 million children worldwide from hunger

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched the 11.5 Edge of Life campaign, which aims to rescue 5 million children around the world from hunger. The campaign continues His Highness’s tradition of launching a humanitarian campaign every Ramadan, reflecting the UAE community’s deeply held values of giving and generosity and willingness to extend help to people everywhere.

The 11.5: Edge of Life campaign builds upon the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, of prioritizing the fight against hunger and making it a key focus of several humanitarian initiatives sponsored by His Highness.

The global humanitarian campaign focuses on children at risk of hunger in the world’s most vulnerable communities, especially in areas of natural disasters and conflicts, as statistics show that 5 children under the age of 5 die of hunger and malnutrition around the world every minute.

The campaign invites participation from all segments of the UAE community, both individuals and institutions, and serves as a practical expression of human solidarity, and the collective responsibility to safeguard children’s fundamental rights to life, growth and dignity.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said: “There is no better way to welcome the holy month of Ramadan than by standing in solidarity with humanity, saving lives and ensuring that those in need can live with dignity. This year we launch the Edge of Life campaign to rescue five million children around the world from hunger. Every good act represents a source of power and blessing at once. The UAE continues to lead globally through this humanitarian power, inspired by our long-standing Emirati legacy.”

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed affirmed that this latest Ramadan campaign embodies the noble values on which the UAE was founded and is rooted in the nation’s commitment to serving as a global model of giving and generosity, and an inspiration to creating positive impact in underserved communities, empowering them to shape a better future.

His Highness added: “Tens of millions of children around the world suffer from hunger. Our goal is to protect them, now and always.”

A message of good

His Excellency Mohammad Al Gergawi, Secretary General of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI) stated that the Edge of Life campaign to rescue 5 million children from hunger around the world reflects the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for fostering a culture of giving and generosity. He added that the campaign sends a powerful message of solidarity from the UAE to the world, and a call for unified international efforts to protect millions of children against the threat of hunger.

His Excellency Al Gergawi said: “Millions of children suffer from life-threatening malnutrition. Our goal is to rescue 5 million children and protect another 30 million children from the threat of hunger.

His Excellency Al Gergawi further noted that the Ramadan campaign serves as a key humanitarian response, and a contribution to global efforts in the face of the escalating global hunger crisis, and the suffering of children facing severe nutritional deficiencies. He added that the campaign comes at a critical point when international organisations navigate funding shortfalls, particularly in countries grappling with compounded issues related to conflict, forced displacement and the aftermath of climate change.

The 11.5: Edge of Life campaign will implement sustainable programmes and projects that help fight child hunger and malnutrition around the world and inspire a widespread community movement that supports its noble aims.

45% of deaths in children under the age of 5, around 2.6 million lives lost globally, are tied to malnutrition, making it a leading cause of child mortality worldwide.

The campaign is being launched in partnership with UNICEF, Save the Children, the Children's Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF), and Action Against Hunger.

A decisive medical indicator

11.5 is the mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) for children between 6 months and 5 years. It is a medical measurement used for the early detection of acute malnutrition in children. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines, a MUAC measurement of under 11.5 cm is – among other indicators - one of the criteria used to diagnose this serious condition.

This measurement is not arbitrary. It represents the recommendation by the WHO and UNICEF to determine the most severe cases of malnutrition, requiring immediate medical attention due to their direct link to higher mortality rates if treatment is delayed or withheld.

The MUAC measurement is widely used in more vulnerable environments, including refugee camps and areas of conflict or natural disasters. It is a rapid, simple tool that does not require cumbersome equipment, and can be used even by non-specialised caregivers.

This measurement is considered a direct and reliable indicator of a child’s nutritional state in emergency contexts when weight and height measurements can’t be taken in conventional ways. It offers health workers a decisive sign to make an instant decision regarding the need of urgent medical intervention.

11.5 represents the edge separating a recoverable situation by quick intervention, and one where the life of a child is at serious risk of death. MUAC measurements under 11.5 indicate wasting, and the loss of the minimum required muscle mass and nutritional reserve, and a life-threatening vulnerability of the immune system.

That said, the number 11.5 does not only represent a physical measurement, but a decisive alarm and a fine line between a life-saving intervention, and a delay that risks a child’s life.

The 11.5: Edge of Life campaign transforms this clinical measurement into a global humanitarian call, turning a technical health indicator into a definitive threshold between life and death. The campaign seeks to embed this figure into public awareness as a reminder of the urgent need for early intervention and our collective responsibility to rescue children from hunger before they reach the point of irrecoverable risk. In this sense, the 11.5: Edge of Life is more than just a name, but a loud call to act before it is too late, highlighting the fact that a simple screening followed by swift action could be all that stands between life and death.

The virtue of giving

The latest Ramadan campaign is inspired by the teachings of Islam and the humanitarian values of compassion, solidarity and giving.

Hunger remains one of the most serious global challenges directly threatening the right to life itself, while undermining foundations of health, growth and stability in the world’s most vulnerable communities. This renders efforts to fight against hunger an urgent humanitarian and moral imperative.

Global hunger and malnutrition among children are driven by a host of interconnected forces. Human experience and facts on the ground show this is rarely the result of a single issue; instead, the crisis stems from a network of overlapping challenges that hit vulnerable populations, mainly children, the hardest. Key drivers include unrest and armed conflict, economic crises and rising food costs, environmental disasters fueled by climate change, and the instability resulting from forced displacement.

118 million children around the world faced hunger in 2025, in one of the largest hunger waves affecting children in recent years. Statistics show that 1 in 4 children under the age of 5 suffer acute malnutrition, which means that 181 million children lack access to minimum nutrition required for healthy growth.

Journey of giving

The 11.5: Edge of Life campaign, operating under MBRGI, is the latest in a series of previous Ramadan campaigns launched under directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to a widespread response in the UAE.

In Ramadan 2020, the ’10 Million Meals’ campaign collected over 15.3 million meals donated by individuals and institutions in both the private and public sectors.

In Ramadan 2021, the ‘100 Million Meals’ campaign distributed 220 meals in 30 countries across 4 continents. This was followed by the ‘1 Billion Meals’ campaign in Ramadan 2022, which reached its target in under a month and provided food aid in 50 countries, thanks to the support of 320,868 contributors.

The ‘1 Billion Meals Endowment’ campaign in Ramadan 2023 drew large participation and raised AED 1.075 billion by the end of Ramadan.

The Mothers’ Endowment campaign was launched in Ramadan 2024 to honour mothers in the UAE by establishing a AED 1 billion endowment fund to support the sustainable education of millions around the world. The campaign reached its target before the end of Ramadan and raised over AED1.4 billion.

Last year’s Fathers’ Endowment campaign aimed to honour fathers in the UAE by establishing a AED 1 billion endowment fund to provide healthcare to the poor and needy. The campaign was an unprecedented success, raising over AED 3.7 billion before the end of Ramadan.

Innovative solutions

MBRGI was launched in 2015 as an umbrella bringing together the initiatives and institutions supported and sponsored by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, for over 20 years.

MBRGI consolidates over 30 initiatives and institutions that carry out programmes under five main pillars: Humanitarian Aid & Relief, Healthcare & Disease Control, Spreading Education & Knowledge, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, and Empowering Communities. Since 2015, MBRGI spent over AED 13.8 billion in humanitarian aid and relief efforts, benefiting 788 million people in 118 countries.

In 2024, MBRGI’s total spending across the five pillars amounted to over AED 2.2 billion, benefiting around 149 million people in 118 countries around the world.

MBRGI aims to tackle pressing global challenges and invest in human capital to empower vulnerable communities by spreading education, combating poverty and disease, and promoting tolerance.