WASHINGTON: The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) signed a $2 million grant agreement on Friday, to support an emergency project aimed at providing clean drinking water to the Gaza Strip in the occupied Palestinian territories. According to a press release from the fund, the agreement was signed on the sidelines of the 2025 Spring Meetings of the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund in Washington. The grant agreement was signed on behalf of KFAED by Acting Director General Waleed Al-Bahar and on behalf of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) by Abdallah Al-Dardari, Director of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Arab States.

The statement explained that the project seeks to alleviate humanitarian suffering and improve living conditions for civilians affected by conflict in Gaza. It aims to provide clean and safe drinking water, especially in light of disruptions to primary water sources and the population’s reliance on contaminated alternatives that contribute to the spread of disease. The project involves the supply and installation of mobile solar-powered desalination units, which will ensure a sustainable water supply while reducing dependency on traditional fuel sources for water production.

The number of direct beneficiaries from the project is estimated at approximately 250,000 residents of the Gaza Strip, the majority of whom are women and children. The fund also signed a $2 million grant with UNDP to support a project aimed at enhancing access to drinking water infrastructure for displaced persons, refugees, and host communities in Sudan.

The project aims to increase access to safe and reliable water for approximately 500,000 individuals, including internally displaced persons (IDPs), refugees, returnees, and residents of 24 host communities that house the highest concentration of IDPs. The project also aims to ensure the availability of environmentally friendly water infrastructure, promote equitable, fair, and peaceful access to water for all, and strengthen local capacities for sustainable service delivery.

The grants mark the fifth and sixth collaborations of their kind between the two institutions in the field of urgent relief aid and humanitarian and development support. Since 2013, the Kuwait Fund has provided approximately $12.6 million to the UNDP to finance five humanitarian projects. — KUNA