A Grant Agreement was signed today between the Kuwait Red Crescent Society and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, according to which the Fund will provide a Humanitarian Relief Grant of 2.5 Million US Dollars in support of the "Improved housing conditions and health care services" Project for refugees from the Rohingya minority in Cox's Bazar district in the People's Republic of Bangladesh. The Agreement was signed on behalf of the Kuwait Red Crescent Society, its Secretary General Mrs. Maha Barjas Albarjas, and on behalf of the Kuwait Fund, Director General, Mr. Abdulwahab Ahmed Albader.

The Project aims to improve the living conditions of more than 1,200 families (about 6,000 individuals) of Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazar district in the People's Republic of Bangladesh by providing them with safe and sustainable housing and enhancing their protection and safety, while providing primary health care services and raising community health awareness for them. The project implementation period is estimated at about two years, and the project consists of the following elements:

• Construction of 1,200 shelters, with a total construction area of ??about 20,400 square meters, equivalent to about 17 square meters for housing, according to the engineering designs approved by the government of Bangladesh and specialized UN organizations.

• Provided 1,200 packages of household items including hoods, cooking utensils and solar lighting systems.

• Construction of educational centers and mosques.

• Operating 3 health centers for a period of two years.

• Training of 100 workers to provide health awareness services related to maternal and child health, nutrition, personal hygiene and first aid.

This Grant is part of Kuwait Fund's contributions to fulfilling the commitment of the Government of the State of Kuwait in the relief of Rohingya refugees in the People's Republic of Bangladesh. Towards that end, the Fund's Board of Directors issued a decision on 10/01/2018 to allocate a Grant of 4.0 Million US Dollars to contribute to providing urgent relief assistance to refugees from the Rohingya minority in Bangladesh, and a decision to allocate an additional Grant of 1.0 Million US Dollars on 27/10/2020, bringing the total amount allocated for this purpose to 5.0 Million US Dollars. The Grant Agreement concluded today will further operationalize the Memorandum of Understanding signed on 07/31/2018 between Kuwait Fund and the Society, which aims to activate cooperation in the areas of joint relief and humanitarian activities between the two parties. Previously, the Fund had provided the Kuwait Red Crescent Society with a Grant of 1.0 Million US Dollars on 26/11/2017 to contribute to the relief of Rohingya refugees in the People's Republic of Bangladesh, as part of the commitment of the Government of the State of Kuwait to support the relief of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh (Grant No. 374) . And on 03/06/2020, Kuwait Fund provided the Society with a Humanitarian Relief Grant of 2.4 Million US Dollars to contribute to a program of projects for the relief of Syrian Refugees in the Lebanese Republic within the framework of the commitment of the Government of the State of Kuwait at the Fourth Syria Donors Conference held in London on 04/02/2016 (Grant No. 356.7) .

It should be noted that the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development relies entirely on its own financial resources in providing its loans and its development and humanitarian aid.