Qatar’s Education Above All (EAA) foundation, Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) and a range of charities in the Gulf state have been leading efforts to end poverty around the world.
Qatar has launched extensive efforts to end poverty across the world through providing education to millions of disadvantaged students, building vital infrastructure and offering urgent humanitarian aid to those in need.
“The State of Qatar is proud to be part of the global efforts to eradicate poverty across the world,” the Government Communications Office (GCO) said in a tweet on Sunday.
“Qatar is an avid supporter of various UN agencies that lead these efforts to end poverty,” it added.
The State of #Qatar is proud to be part of the global efforts to eradicate poverty across the world. Qatar is an avid supporter of various @UN agencies that lead these efforts to #EndPoverty. pic.twitter.com/3RGnilTpKU
— مكتب الاتصال الحكومي (@GCOQatar) October 17, 2021
Education
In the field of education, Qatar’s Education Above All (EAA) foundation and Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) are playing a substantial role in providing education to millions of students worldwide, with particular focus on those whose right to education was taken away due to poverty.
In 2012, the two organisations partnered with United Nations agencies to pledge over $92 million towards education for children in disadvantaged areas and those affected by the ongoing Syrian war.
Most recently, Qatar has been playing a vital role in aiding Afghans who fled Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover, which has threatened the education system, especially for girls.
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Last month, Qatar Foundation and QFFD granted scholarships to the Afghan Dreamers, a group of girls that form a robotics team.
The scholarships allow the group to continue their education at world-class QF universities in Doha, where they have spent the last few weeks following a mass evacuation of people from Kabul.
This week, students from the American University of Afghanistan landed in Doha to continue their education at the university’s new campus in the Gulf state.
Meanwhile, Qatari officials, such as Sheikha Moza bint Nasser and Sheikha Hind bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, have been advocates for education and launched several initiatives through Qatar Foundation to save the future of students facing challenges.
Infrastructure
In terms of infrastructure, Qatar has been among the first to support countries facing severe constructional damage due to wars and unprecedented incidents.
In June, QFFD signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Lebanon to reconstruct the Karantina hospital in Beirut which faced significant damage after the deadly Beirut port explosion of August 2020.
Read also: Qatar to reconstruct Lebanon hospital after devastating Beirut port explosion
The organisation also recently signed an agreement with the Lebanese Ministry of Education, in cooperation with EAA and Unesco, to repair “55 schools, 20 technical and vocational education and training centres, and three universities in Beirut,” GCO noted.
In Syria, Qatar Charity announced in July laid the foundational stone for Al Amal City, which is considered one of the largest housing projects for internally displaced Syrians in the northern countryside of Aleppo.
The project, in partnership with the Turkish IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, is worth $7,500,000 and will have 1,400 houses for Syrians as well as educational and service facilities aimed at benefiting 8,800 people.
Doha has also pumped millions into Gaza to help with reconstruction efforts as Israel continues its illegal occupation and siege.
Humanitarian assistance
“QFFD globally dispersed over $121mn for education, $29mn for economic development and $101mn for healthcare in 2020,” the GCO stated.
In March, Qatar announced the disbursement of $100 million in humanitarian assistance to alleviate the suffering of Syrians during the decade-long crisis, adding to some $2 billion in financial and humanitarian aid since the start of the conflict.
Authorities have also started disbursing monthly financial aid to hundreds of Palestinian families in the besieged Gaza Strip, where more than two million live under Israeli occupation.
Qatar has also stepped in to help countries around the world through various humanitarian projects, such as in Yemen, Sudan, Somalia and Afghanistan.
Over the past year and a half, Qatar has also extended assistance to countries suffering with a shortage of medical aid and vaccines amid the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
