KUWAIT: The Kuwaiti Charitable Development Society announced on Monday the signing of the fourth cooperation agreement with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to provide support and assistance to Rohingya Muslim refugees, worth $180,000. Chairman of the Society’s Board of Directors, Dr Nasser Al-Ajmi, affirmed to Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) the keenness on this humanitarian file for Rohingya Muslim refugees in cooperation and strategic partnership with the High Commissioner, which cares for 37 camps out of 44 refugee camps there.
Al-Ajmi said that the society has sought for the fourth consecutive year to contribute to providing basic requirements for refugees, most notably those related to health, securing shelter, drinking water, and distributing sewage stations in light of the spread of epidemics and diseases. He explained that the proceeds of previous and current agreements were able to meet the needs of 450,000 refugees out of 950,000 refugees, with a total amount estimated at $1.1 million.
He added that Rohingya refugees do not only suffer from a refugee problem but also from hardship, praising the officials in the country for facilitating humanitarian missions to provide relief to those affected by crises and wars, as well as the cooperation of Kuwaiti charitable societies and organizations in delivering donations to those entitled to them.
For her part, UNHCR Representative in Kuwait Nisreen Rabiaan said in a similar statement to KUNA that the fourth agreement will meet the needs of about 60,000 families of Rohingya Muslim refugees, adding that various aids for basic needs have been paid for. Rabiaan noted the pioneering role of Kuwait in providing relief to the world’s afflicted, including the people in the Gaza Strip and Sudan, in addition to its interest in those affected by the crisis in Rohingya and other countries that need humanitarian and charitable support.
She stressed the commission’s keenness to consolidate the relationship with the charitable sector in Kuwait, including Tanmia Charity, which is one of the most prominent donors and contributors through its office in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, in addition to the "Kuwait by Your Side” campaign, which includes various Kuwaiti associations and organizations, including the Charitable Organization, Kuwait Zakat House, Al-Rahma International, Namaa Charity, and other Kuwaiti charitable organizations.
In turn, the representative of the Ministry of Social Affairs in the Charitable Societies Department, Salma Al-Mutairi, confirmed the Ministry’s keenness to provide support and remove obstacles facing the efforts of Kuwaiti charitable societies and organizations that dedicate the country’s pioneering role in humanitarian affairs, especially cooperation between international bodies that would raise charitable work in the country.
Al-Mutairi pointed out that the Ministry continues to facilitate all Kuwaiti charitable works in cooperation with various official bodies, indicating that it recently issued licenses for two Kuwaiti charitable societies and a foundation with the aim of continuing charitable work. The signing of the agreement was attended by representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Ministry of Social Affairs, a number of Kuwaiti charitable societies and organizations, and those interested in humanitarian affairs. — KUNA