Jeddah
The Islamic Solidarity Fund (ISF), a subsidiary organ of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), has approved urgent financial grants to twenty-one Member States to enhance their capabilities to face the negative repercussions of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic as part of the initiative to support the OIC’s least developed Member States.
In the presence of the OIC Secretary General, Dr. Yousef A. Al-Othaimeen, the ISF handed over the third batch of the approved financial grants to the delegates of permanent missions of Yemen, Chad, Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, Sudan, Comoros, and Maldives at the headquarters of the OIC General Secretariat today, 25 June 2020. Seventeen Member States have so far benefited from the ISF’s support against COVID-19.
The Secretary General extended his thanks and appreciation to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the host country, for its generous and continuous support to the ISF, as well as the other Member States that have contributed to the ISF’s budget to fulfill its mandate.
Al-Othaimeen indicated that the assistance provided by the ISF since the outbreak of COVID-19 is part of the determined efforts of the General Secretariat and the OIC’s specialized organs to contain the negative repercussions of the pandemic. “The initiative to support the least developed Member States aims to enhance their capabilities to confront the pandemic, especially in the health sector. The ISF’s initiative aims to address the shortfall in the basic medical supplies, screening diagnostic devices, personal protective equipment for health workers, masks and respirators, medicines, beds, and intensive care room equipment,” stated the OIC Secretary General.
In coordination with the General Secretariat, the ISF will continue to provide financial grants to the rest of the least developed Member States to face the repercussions of this serious disaster in all its humanitarian, health, economic, and social dimensions and to harness all available means to contain its negative effects.
The ISF’s efforts are integral to the commitment of Islamic finance institutions to support the health sector in the countries affected by COVID-19.
It is worth noting that the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB) had established a US$ 2.3 billion Strategic Preparedness and Response Center to mitigate the negative effects of COVID-19 at the health, social, and economic levels.—PR
