- In 2019, the Refugee Zakat Fund received US$43,165,000, allowing UNHCR to provide lifesaving support to over 1 million refugees and internally-displaced persons
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has launched the findings of its 2020 Islamic Philanthropy Report, highlighting the impact of the Refugee Zakat Fund on vulnerable refugees and internally-displaced persons (IDPs) across the globe. Zakat (زكاة) is an obligatory form of alms-giving for Muslims who meet the criteria, and is often given during Ramadhan.
 |
| Source: UNHCR. Eleven-year-old Reem is an internally displaced Yemeni girl with a
serious medical condition. She lives in Sana’a, Yemen and needs regular
medication. Through its partners, UNHCR helped her mother with cash assistance which she used to buy medicine, pay off overdue rent and buy
food for her four children. “I cried when I got the money because I was able to cover Reem’s medicine for one month,” her mother told UNHCR. “Before I got the cash I didn’t have any food in the house to feed my kids - not even a grain of rice.” In 2019, the UN estimated that 80% of Yemen’s 24 million population required humanitarian assistance or protection due to the ongoing conflict. Some 3.65 million civilians have been displaced since the war began in March 2015. Conflict has caused extensive damage to public infrastructure and humanitarian needs are the most acute in governorates most affected by conflict, including Taizz, Al Hudaydah, Hajjah and Al Dhale’e, where fighting and civilian impact is recorded daily. UNHCR provides humanitarian support for the internally displaced and around 275,000 refugees and asylum-seekers who have remained in Yemen despite the fighting. It provided cash assistance to more than 167,000 families in 2019. |
The Refugee Zakat Fund was launched by UNHCR in 2019 as a trusted, compliant and effective distributor harnessing the power of zakat to transform the lives of the most vulnerable refugee and IDPs. The report revealed that in 2019, the Refugee Zakat Fund received over US$43 million, including the largest-ever single contribution made by the Thani Bin Abdullah Bin Thani Al-Thani Humanitarian Fund of over US$35 million.
Other donations to the UNHCR Refugee Zakat Fund were from individuals, institutional partners and philanthropists. These donations have helped provide lifesaving assistance to 191,497 vulnerable families (1,025,014 individuals).
On March 25, UNHCR appealed for US$255 million for its urgent push to curb the risk and lessen the impact of COVID-19 outbreaks on vulnerable communities. Funds are critical to urgently support preparedness and response in situations of forced displacement over the next nine months.
"Imagine trying to cope with this (the coronavirus pandemic) crisis with no access to soap and water to wash your hands. No hope of isolating yourself because of overcrowded conditions. No shelter to stay safely inside. Imagine having to do this after already having been forced by war to flee your home and your family. This is the tragic reality today for far too many refugees and displaced families around the world," said Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in a video statement.
Explore:
Watch the video where Grandi delivers wishes for Ramadhan