Kuwait city: The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) has entered into a USD 2.5 million grant agreement with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to deliver crucial health and clean water services to conflict-affected communities in Somalia. This agreement was formalized by Deputy Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric, symbolizing a significant development in Kuwait’s humanitarian collaboration with global organizations.
According to Kuwait News Agency, the project is designed to bolster the resilience of Somali communities by enhancing access to primary healthcare and clean water, which is expected to mitigate health risks and promote stability. KFAED operations supervisor for East and South Asia and the Pacific, Yousef Al-Bader, stated that the initiative includes the establishment of a new health clinic in the Hiraan region to offer maternal care, childcare, vaccination, and health awareness services to local residents.
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e initiative will also focus on rehabilitating three existing clinics managed by the Somali Red Crescent Society by upgrading infrastructure, providing clean water, and enhancing waste management and essential medical equipment. Additionally, the project plans to renovate the water treatment plant to increase supply capacity and set up a water quality-testing laboratory, supported by local capacity-building programs.
This project aligns with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, such as eradicating poverty, promoting good health and wellbeing, ensuring access to clean water and sanitation, fostering peace and justice, and forming partnerships to achieve goals. Al-Bader emphasized that the grant is part of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between Kuwait and the United Kingdom on July 6, 2025, under which both nations jointly contribute USD five million to support ICRC humanitarian activities in Somalia.
ICRC Director-General Pierre Krahenbuhl noted that the agreement strengthens ICRC’s ef
forts to provide safe water to Somalia’s rural areas, highlighting Kuwait’s prominent humanitarian role and steadfast support for global relief initiatives. He expressed that the initiative is a testament to Kuwait’s ongoing commitment to international humanitarian work and its enduring partnership with the ICRC, built on mutual trust and a shared dedication to alleviating human suffering worldwide.
Krahenbuhl commended Kuwait’s exemplary humanitarian record and its unwavering support for communities in crisis, reiterating that Kuwait has established itself as a principled and compassionate donor nation with a focus on global solidarity and assistance. This grant marks the second collaboration of this nature between the two institutions in humanitarian support, following a previous grant signed on August 24, 2021, worth USD 3.5 million, aimed at enhancing essential services for Syrian refugees in Lebanon.