Riyadh - Decypha: The Lives and Livelihoods Fund (LLF) has approved the allocation of $242.6 million for poverty-fighting development projects in 2017.
Health, agriculture and rural infrastructure projects in Tajikistan, Sudan, Djibouti, Niger, Mauritania, Cameroon, Uganda and Guinea will be funded by the LLF this year, according to a 1 press release.
The announcement came during a meeting that witnessed participation of representatives from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development, the Islamic Development Bank, Turkish Red Crescent and representatives from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
The fund has already allocated $363 million for 2016, the first of the five years the LLF is scheduled to operate within, according to Chairman Maher Al-Hadrawi.
The LLF was formally launched in September 2016 in Jeddah with the aim of spending $2.5 billion over five years on development projects to help neediest people in 30 of the poorest Muslim countries.
The fund is comprised of $2 billion directly funded by the Islamic Development Fund (IDB), which manages the LFF, and $500m granted by donors.
So far, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has contributed $400 million, Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development has contributed $100 million, the King Salman Relief and Humanitarian Aid Center added $100 as well, and Qatar Fund for Development and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, each contributed $50 million.
By Decypha Editorial Team
