The charity’s UK Director said poverty in the UK has worsened due to the cost of living crisis, causing more families to struggle to meet basic food needs.

Islamic Relief-UK announced on Tuesday that it has entered into a partnership with Qatar’s UK Embassy to aid those most vulnerable to food insecurity in Britain during Ramadan.

The London-based charity said in a news release that the partnership — inked before the holy month started — was to commemorate Ramadan, a time that reminds us to “ extend a helping hand to those in need.”

Islamic Relief and Qatar’s UK mission will distribute food parcels and cooked meals to the former’s partners — including the Himmah Luton Foodbank, the East London Mosque, Kokni Muslim Association and the Liverpool FC Foundation, among many others.

As part of this initiative, an iftar event for all members of the public to attend will be hosted in April with the assistance of the Liverpool FC Foundation.

Tufail Hussain, the Director of Islamic Relief UK, said that the charity was looking forward to positively collaborating with the Qatari embassy to make a difference in the lives of those struggling to meet their basic food needs.

He also explained why food insecurity has become a growing issue across Britain: “Poverty in the UK has been exacerbated by years of cost-of-living crisis, and families are struggling more than ever to put food on the table.”

He added, “It is imperative more than ever to come together as a community and support one another.”

Qatar’s commitment to combating food injustice

This news follows a two-day conference held in Doha on combating global food injustice.

Organised by Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) and held in February under the auspices of Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, the ‘International Conference on Food Justice from a Human Rights Perspective’ conference gathered the world’s renowned experts in the field to present recommendations to combat this issue.

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization forecasts that by 2030, almost 600 million people will be “chronically” undernourished. 

Speaking to Doha News during the conference, the NHRC’s vice chairman, Mohammed bin Saif Al Kuwari, said the conference provides Qatar, and the global community, with a good opportunity to discuss worrying trends in world hunger.

“A lot of people are suffering from hunger,” he said, adding that proposals presented during the conference would be shared with local government, international organisations and human rights organisations so that the recommendations can be implemented into solutions.

Doha News also spoke to Rashid Al Balushi, chairman of the Omani Human Rights Commission, who said the conference amplified the continuous need to uphold global food rights, especially during times of conflict.

“Food is the topic of the hour,” he said.

“The most important outcome [of the conference] was the Doha Declaration, which puts this right far from negotiations… wars and conflicts,” Al Balushi added.

As Israel’s brutal war on the Gaza Strip continues, the Gaza Ministry of Health has reported that 27 Palestinians, including 23 children, admitted to hospitals in northern Gaza have died of malnutrition and dehydration.

“Children are being driven to unacceptable levels of food insecurity, malnutrition, and starvation due to conflict, and nowhere in this world is this more evident than in the Gaza Strip,” said Andrew Morley, the World Vision International President and Chief Executive Officer.

He added, “The sheer number of children affected is heartbreaking and catastrophic. Behind every number is an individual story of a child and their family – and their fight for survival.”