New york: The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development signed an agreement with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to provide USD 5 million in support of the Cholera Response Project in Sudan. The agreement was signed by Kuwait's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Jarrah Al-Sabah and UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.
According to Kuwait News Agency, the project aims to limit the spread of cholera and mitigate health risks due to deteriorating water and sanitation services in Sudan. The initiative will focus on improving access to clean water, rehabilitating 12 water treatment plants and 18 small water points, upgrading hospital sanitation systems, and incorporating solar energy systems for sustainability.
The project will also promote hygiene awareness and behavioral change through community campaigns and field team training. This initiative is part of a Memorandum of Understanding signed on July 6 between the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, Kuwait Foreign Ministry, and the Commonwealth and Development Office of the United Kingdom.
Under this memorandum, both the United Kingdom and Kuwait will each contribute USD 5 million through the Kuwait Fund to finance the project, which is expected to directly benefit around 1.5 million people in Sudan.
This grant is the tenth collaboration between the two institutions in humanitarian support. Since 2017, the Kuwait Fund has provided approximately USD 23.5 million to UNICEF for nine humanitarian projects, the latest of which was in March, aimed at improving water and sanitation systems in the Gaza Strip with a USD 1.5 million grant.