Lives and Livelihoods Fund (LLF), the largest multilateral development initiative in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena), has approved $243 million for anti-poverty projects in eight OIC (Organization for Islamic Cooperation) countries.

LLF, which has released $2.5 billion in finance over five years, has representatives from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development, and the Islamic Development Bank.

The countries to benefit from these rojects are Tajikistan, Sudan, Djibouti, Niger, Mauritania, Cameroon, Uganda, and Guinea.

The financing will be made for key sectors of health, agriculture, and rural infrastructure development projects in eight member countries.

Maher Al Hadhrawi, the assistant supervisor general for Operations and Programs at KS Relief, and chair of the LLF for its first year of operations, said: "The second meeting of the LLF Impact Committee marks an important milestone in the fund’s progress. We successfully launched the first project - a malaria prevention and control project in partnership with the Government of Senegal in March."

"We are here today to prioritize more projects that will have the biggest impact across the Muslim world and lift the poorest people out of poverty," he noted.

Over the next five years, the LLF will make $2.5 billion available for anti-poverty projects in health, agriculture and rural infrastructure in Islamic Development Bank member countries.

"A total of $363 million has been approved for the Fund’s first operational year, and all the donors are working closely together to ensure that it is allocated most effectively," he added.

Khalifa bin Jassim Al Kuwari, the director general of QFFD, said: "The Lives and Livelihoods Fund is the first multilateral partnership of its kind in this region, and demonstrates the benefit of partnering with other donor organizations and regional governments."

"By pooling our resources together, and combining grants with finance from the Islamic Development Bank, we are able to increase our impact and ultimately save more lives. At Qatar Fund for Development, we are proud to contribute to an initiative that is going to have such a massive impact on the lives of millions of people across the Islamic world," he added.

Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, the director general of ADFD, said the meeting demonstrates that the Fund is making steady progress in improving people’s live across the developing world.

"Our contribution to the Fund articulates the development agenda pursued by the UAE Government that aims to promote inclusive social and economic development through working with our partners from other development agencies to ensure the effectiveness of our aid programs. We are proud to be a founding member of the largest multilateral development initiative in the Middle East and look forward to devoting all our resources and expertise to ensuring improved livelihoods for the people of developing countries," he added.

Dr Waleed Alwohaib, the director general, ISFD, said: "Through the grant contributions of the LLF, our aim is to protect communities from the risk of preventable diseases, improving reproductive, maternal and child health, increasing access to sanitation and primary healthcare, and supporting rural development, we are empowering some of the poorest people in the world, and giving them the chance to live healthy and productive lives.”

Dr Bandar Hajjar, the president of the IsDB, said: "The LLF is now making progress in its mission to help the poorest people in the Muslim world live healthier, more productive lives through investments in health, agriculture, and rural infrastructure."

Hassan Al Damluji, the head of Middle East Relations for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said: "Of the more than one billion people in the world facing extreme poverty, 400 million are living in the Islamic Development Bank’s member countries."

"These countries urgently need access to finance for development projects that eradicate disease, provide basic healthcare, and invest in agriculture and critical infrastructure. The LLF was only established in late 2016, but already it is filling this gap by supporting projects that will enable people to lift themselves out of poverty," he added.-TradeArabia News Service