Bank launches poverty fund

DAKAR – The Islamic Development Bank launched a US$10 billion (N$70 billion) fund yesterday to combat poverty in developing Muslim nations in Africa and other parts of the world.

The fund, which has an initial endowment of US$1,4 billion, will be dedicated to alleviating poverty, promoting health and universal education, and empowering women in the bank’s 56 member countries. “This launching ceremony of the IDB’s Poverty Alleviation Fund symbolises a revitalisation of the Islamic community in a world where unmatched wealth is next to absolute poverty,” the host of the bank’s annual meeting, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, told delegates.Saudi Arabia has already pledged to contribute US$1 billion, Kuwait US$300 million, Iran US$100 million and Senegal US$10 million, bank officials said.The aim of the fund is to help meet the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), proposed by then-Secretary-General Kofi Annan and approved by world leaders in 2000.They include cutting extreme poverty by half, ensuring universal primary education, and stemming the AIDS pandemic, all by 2015, among others.Nampa-Reuters”This launching ceremony of the IDB’s Poverty Alleviation Fund symbolises a revitalisation of the Islamic community in a world where unmatched wealth is next to absolute poverty,” the host of the bank’s annual meeting, Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade, told delegates.Saudi Arabia has already pledged to contribute US$1 billion, Kuwait US$300 million, Iran US$100 million and Senegal US$10 million, bank officials said.The aim of the fund is to help meet the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), proposed by then-Secretary-General Kofi Annan and approved by world leaders in 2000.They include cutting extreme poverty by half, ensuring universal primary education, and stemming the AIDS pandemic, all by 2015, among others.Nampa-Reuters