Today, Thursday, the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development signed a grant agreement with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), providing $2.1 million to contribute to supporting the project for rehabilitating and maintaining homes for displaced persons in the Republic of Yemen.  

In a press statement, the Fund stated that the project targets returning displaced persons and supports the self-reliance of returning families by providing them with the necessary materials, equipment, and labor costs to rehabilitate their homes damaged by the ongoing conflict in Yemen. It noted that the estimated number of direct beneficiaries from the project components is approximately 670 families.  

The statement quoted the Acting Director-General of the Fund, Waleed Al-Bahar, as saying that the signing of this agreement reflects Kuwait's commitment, represented by the Kuwait Fund for Development, to stand by the Yemeni people, who are facing harsh living conditions amid the humanitarian crisis in Yemen due to war and economic instability.  

For her part, Nisreen Rubaian, the representative of the UNHCR in Kuwait, explained in the statement that Yemen continues to face one of the most complex humanitarian crises in the world, where the ongoing conflict and economic instability have displaced more than four million people.  

She added that around 6.7 million people, 40 percent of whom are internally displaced, lack adequate housing, noting that many returnees face difficult living conditions in damaged or destroyed homes, exposing them to protection risks and repeated displacement.  

The statement indicated that this is the eighth grant of its kind between the Fund and the UNHCR in the field of humanitarian support, noting that the total contributions of the Fund to the UNHCR since 2016 have amounted to approximately $24 million to finance seven projects.  

The agreement was signed by the Acting Director-General of the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, Waleed Al-Bahar, and the UNHCR Representative in Kuwait, Nisreen Rubaian.  

It is worth noting that the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development is a developmental tool that relies entirely on its own resources to provide concessional loans and developmental aid aimed at assisting developing countries in financing their development projects.