KUWAIT: Kuwait's humanitarian aid activities continued to cover several areas and targeted people that are most in need. The Kuwaiti Tarahum charitable team affiliated to the International Islamic Charitable Organization organized a ceremony for more than 550 Syrian orphans in the city of Sanliurfa southeast of Turkey. Head of the Turkish Ataa Association in Sanliurfa, said that the ceremony came as part of the team's campaign titled 'As One Body 95' and on the occasion of the national holidays of Kuwait. He pointed out that Tarahum team will also organize humanitarian trips for the Syrian refugees in the cities of Gaziantep and Kahraman Marash in cooperation with Ataa organization.

On Friday, the State of Kuwait delivered its voluntary donation worth $500,000 to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. The fund director general, Peter Sands, met during a ceremony for receiving the Kuwaiti donation with the State of Kuwait Permanent Representative to the United Nations and International Organizations in Geneva, Jamal Al-Ghunaim.

The talks touched on health conditions in many countries "where we work," said Sands during the ceremony, organized at headquarters of the State of Kuwait mission. Sands warned that appearance of coronavirus in countries known for spread of HIV, Malaria and Ebola will lead to repercussions similar to those that had been seen with the Ebola virus eruption in West Africa. Meanwhile, Ambassador Ghunaim has re-affirmed Kuwait's support for the fund to help it fight TB and Malaria.

Moreover, Amiri Diwan Advisor and Chairman of the International Islamic Charitable Organization (IICO) Dr Abdullah Al-Maatouq said that the initiative of providing one billion meals to the poor worldwide achieved great success. In its endeavor of directing efforts of local, regional and global humanitarian organizations to combat hunger in 2019, the initiative's programs, projects and partnerships came in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals to eradicate world hunger by 2030.

Maatouq said in a press conference Sunday that participating organizations have multiplied this goal threefold by distributing nearly three billion meals. He indicated that the number of implemented projects reached 331,961, with a completion rate exceeding 100 percent.

Over 132 million beneficiaries of these projects benefited from the pledges that initially aimed at nearly 99.5 million, with a completion rate of 133 percent, Maatouq explained. Kuwait-based IICO is one of the largest humanitarian organizations in the Muslim world, operating as an independent, multi-faceted charity that provides its humanitarian services to those in need without discrimination or intolerance away from interference in politics or ethnic conflicts. - KUNA