Saudi Arabia tops OIC states in providing humanitarian aid in 2014: IINA Report

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Sunday 13 Sep 2015 - 10:21 Makkah mean time-29-11-1436 Jeddah (IINA) – The value of humanitarian aid provided by governments and civil society organizations in the member states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) for those affected by crises and disasters during 2014 exceeded $ 2.5 billion. A report, issued by the OIC Humanitarian Affairs Department for the year 2014, showed an increase of $ 1 billion in the humanitarian aid among the Islamic counties, compared to the previous year (2013), during which it stood at $ 1.5 billion. The report, obtained by the International Islamic News Agency (IINA), indicated that 18 OIC member states and Muslim minorities of Myanmar and Central African Republic have benefited from the OIC humanitarian assistance last year. According to the report, Saudi Arabia topped the list of OIC donor countries to the member states with 54.1 percent ($ 1.38 billion), followed by the UAE 20.3 percent ($ 520 million), Kuwait 10.9 percent ($ 279 million), Qatar 9.4 percent ($ 242 million), and Oman 0.9 percent ($ 23 million). The combined aid provided by these five countries accounted for 95.6 percent of the OIC’s total value of aid, while the International Islamic Relief Organization (IIRO) topped the list of donor civil society organizations to the member states and Muslim minorities, with an amount of $ 27 million. The report noted that Palestine received 32.5 percent ($ 833 million) of the total value of the aid, followed by Syria 31.9 percent ($ 817 million), Iraq 20.6 percent ($ 527 million), Yemen 10.4 percent ($ 267 million), and Pakistan 2 percent ($ 52 million). The report revealed that about 45 crises and disasters hit 27 OIC member states and Muslim minorities during 2015, causing the death of 108,000 people, and dislodging more than 17 million, including refugees and those displaced. The report also suggests that some areas of the Muslim world continue to remain scene of most disasters. It may be mentioned here that the OIC seeks to mobilize efforts to address the refugee crisis through holding an open-ended ministerial meeting on Sunday at its headquarters in Jeddah. AB/IINA