In a significant move to support the Extended Special Project for the Elimination of Tropical Diseases for the period of 2024-2028, The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) signed a Grant Agreement with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to provide a grant of USD 5 million.
The Grant Agreement was signed on behalf of KFAED by Mr. Waleed Sh. Al-Bahar, Acting Director General, and on behalf of WHO by Dr. Assad Hafeez, WHO Representative to the State of Kuwait, on the 8th December.
The project aims to control and eliminate a group of neglected tropical diseases, covering approximately 47 African countries suffering from one or more of these diseases. It will directly benefit more than 400 million people annually, providing around 750 million tablets of medicine per year. These medicines will be supplied free of charge by pharmaceutical companies, based on the project’s requirements. The World Health Organisation will oversee the technical supervision and financial management of the project through its regional office in Africa.
This grant marks the ninth collaboration of its kind between KFAED and WHO in the field of humanitarian support. Since 1994, KFAED has provided approximately USD 20 million to WHO to finance eight projects. The most recent project, “Sustaining Life-Saving Health Services in Priority Governorates” in the Republic of Yemen, concluded on April 21, 2022, with a grant of USD 3.0 million.