Talking to Qatar Charity’s ‘Ghiras’ magazine,

Mr. Khalifa bin Jassem Al-Kuwari, Director General of QFFD:

We work on enabling UN and international organizations to achieve sustainable and comprehensive development

• Thanks to our effective humanitarian support, Qatar became the ninth-largest donor to OCHA.
• We support Qatari charities to implement joint projects with the United Nations.
• We look forward to developing our partnership with Qatar Charity to cover key development sectors and reach out to those most in need.

The assistance, which is provided by the Qatar Fund For Development (QFFD) in the period 2017-2021 through the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) amounted to $5 million. The move comes to intensify the rapid humanitarian response to those affected by natural disasters and armed conflicts. The QFFD’s support as a donor, in cooperation with its strategic implementing partners within and outside Qatar, reaches more than 78 countries around the world.

To shed light on the QFFD’s global efforts, significant position among international donors, active role in supporting Qatari humanitarian and charitable organizations, and evolving partnership with Qatar Charity, the ‘Ghiras’ magazine talked to Mr. Khalifa bin Jassem Al-Kuwari. Director General of QFFD.

How do you evaluate the humanitarian and developmental role of Qatar regionally and internally?

The State of Qatar attaches great importance to both humanitarian and development work, and in this context, the QFFD seeks to implement the United Nations Agenda 2030, and achieve sustainable development goals by working jointly with UN and international organizations, most notably the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The QFFD signed a $40mn partnership agreement with OCHA for the period 2017-2020, to enable the latter to raise the level of readiness and intensify efforts to coordinate an effective and rapid response to the affected areas around the world.

Thanks to this contribution, the State of Qatar became the ninth-largest donor to OCHA.  The QFFD also provides urgent assistance through CERF, which plays an obvious role in extending support during the first days of a disaster to save the largest number of lives. The support, which is provided by QFFD in the period 2017-2021 through CERF, amounted to $5 million to intensify rapid humanitarian response to those affected by natural disasters and armed conflicts.  

On the other hand, our support is extended to the Country-Based Pooled Funds (CBPF) to enable aid workers to provide immediate, effective and rescue assistance to the most needy people in the most fragile countries. The CBPF allow for a rapid humanitarian response through the effective and optimal use of available resources. It also contributes to reducing project costs and provides transparency and accountability through the in-depth evaluation of implementing and receiving organizations and bodies, monitoring projects, and issuing periodic reports on achievements and challenges. The CBPF covers 18 countries, including Myanmar, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Nigeria and Lebanon.

In June, the State of Qatar, represented by QFFD, assumed the presidency of the donor countries group to OCHA. This is the first time when an Arab country has assumed the presidency of the group, which reflects Qatar's position among international donors and their confidence in its capability of promoting international collective action regarding humanitarian interventions.

The QFFD cooperates with international organizations in the field of financing relief and development projects. What is your evaluation of this cooperation and what is the contribution to the efforts made by the international system to bring peace and stability and achieve the sustainable development goals adopted by the United Nations?

The QFFD cooperates with the United Nations agencies and international organizations in the framework of strategic partnerships, and provides funding for the UN organizations as part of a pledge of $ 500 million over a period of 10 years, which began in 2018 to contribute to enabling these organizations to achieve sustainable and comprehensive development.

The State of Qatar is one of the first countries to support the establishment of the UNDP Accelerator Labs Network, in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Federal Republic of Germany. This included support worth $ 20 million to create innovative mechanisms to solve sustainable development problems by engaging youth, entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized companies through the establishment of 60 labs to serve 78 developing countries.

In cooperation with the Islamic Bank, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), and a group of other development funds, the QFFD contributed to the establishment of the Lives and Livelihoods Fund (LLF) with a joint capital of $ 500 million.

QFFD cooperates with Qatari humanitarian and charitable organizations. What is the size of this cooperation and how do you see their performance in achieving QFFD’s goals?

The strong strategic relationship of the QFFD, as a donor, with its strategic implementing partners within and outside the State of Qatar is the cornerstone on which QFFD has established innovative programs for more than 78 countries.

The cooperation between the QFFD and its local strategic partners comes in the context of completing a long journey of the relationship that connects the State of Qatar with humanitarian charitable organizations, which have been working in the field of international development for decades. This cooperation culminates in solid and complementary strategic partnerships, upon which many innovative programs and initiatives with significant development and humanitarian impact are based.

For example, the QFFD, through its Quest initiative launched in cooperation with its local strategic partners, seeks to make sure that children and youth, who experienced the Syrian conflict, have access to education and basic skills, in addition to healthcare that will ensure their well-being, achieve stability, peace, and justice, and build and improve their future and that of their societies.

The initiative targets displaced youth within Syria and the countries hosting Syrian refugees, namely Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq and Turkey. The program is implemented through the local strategic partners in Qatar such as Qatar Charity, Silatech, Education Above All and the Qatar Red Crescent.

The QFFD also works on enhancing the role of Qatari charities by designating them as primary partners for joint projects with the United Nations.

QFFD, through bilateral meetings with partners like multilateral organizations, seeks to emphasize the importance of building the capacity of the QFFD and Qatari charities.

What are the challenges faced or expected by the QFFD in the period ahead in light of the growing volume of crises in the region, especially in the last decade, and what are the implications of the coronavirus pandemic?

In the past months, we at the QFFD managed to address the difficulties to make remote work possible and available to all. We continue to provide unlimited support to our strategic sectors such as education, health, economic empowerment and infrastructure, in addition to relief and humanitarian projects through our local and international partners to restore hope and promote peace and justice through sustainable and comprehensive development.

The volume of aid needed by countries in light of the mounting crises and conflicts is a major challenge to donor countries, development funds and humanitarian organizations alike. The international community has expressed a fear that the economic repercussions of the coronavirus may affect the growing international need for humanitarian and development interventions in light of the possibility of a decline in the volume of support provided or a reconsideration of directing it due to the economic recession, from which the donor and recipient countries suffer alike.

On the other hand, we managed to provide the necessary medical equipment and supplies to several countries witnessing an increase in the number of infections with the coronavirus (COVID-19), and offer medical services to the infected, aiming at preventing the pandemic, which is a threat to the whole world. We are working with our local and international strategic partners to mitigate the epidemic and the unemployment resulting from it, by providing food aid and other assistance.

Under the directives of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, urgent medical aid was sent to brotherly and friendly countries, in cooperation with the Ministry of Public Health, the Emiri Armed Forces and Qatar Airways, via an air bridge in response to the outbreak of the pandemic in several countries numbering 21. 

Qatar Charity has many significant partnerships with the QFFD to implement relief and development projects in various countries. What is your evaluation of this cooperation and what are the prospects for it?

We hope to develop the partnership with Qatar Charity and expand our cooperation to cover the basic sectors such as education, health and economic development in a good number of countries, aiming at delivering aid to those most in need. Through this partnership, we hope to achieve the goals of the QFFD and Qatar Charity regarding sustainable and comprehensive development.