Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) signed on Monday a financial contribution memorandum with the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) to support Global Muslim Philanthropy Fund for Children (GMPFC), as the memorandum includes two projects, with a total amount of $9.16 million.

The IsDB in cooperation with UNICEF launched the fund in 2019, opening new opportunities for Muslim philanthropy to reach the millions of children in need of humanitarian support and help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The fund is the first fund focused on Muslim giving, enabling multiple forms of Muslim philanthropy, including obligatory giving such as Zakat and voluntary giving such as Sadaqah donations and Waqf endowments, to contribute to emergency response and development programs.

The memorandum was signed by supervisor general of KSrelief Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, who is also an adviser at the Royal Court, and by president of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Dr. Bandar Hajjar, as the trustee to the fund, and by executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Henrietta Fore, as the co-founder of the global fund.

Under the first project, health and nutritional services will be supported through primary health care for Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh in partnership with the UNICEF, benefiting 130,000 individuals. It aims to provide primary health services to 110,000 children who are under the age of five, 20,000 pregnant women or who have just given birth, provide health services for 150 childbirth cases, in addition to training 150 doctors and 100 nurses to provide health care services for mothers and children.

The project also aims to support logistic services for 13 health facilities in Rohingya refugee camps and to treat malnutrition cases.

As for the second project, vaccination coverage and health services for children under five years old will be improved in the provinces of Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab in Pakistan, benefiting one 1,368,000 individuals, as part of the campaign of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman that aims to relief the Pakistani people.

The second project aims to support routine immunization, which is one of the most cost-effective means to reduce infant mortality. It will support more than 295 health facilities with medical supplies, cooling systems and generators, as well as providing personal protective equipment for more than 3,500 health workers.

The fund aims to support marginalized children in the member states of the IsDB, especially those facing humanitarian crises.