QFFD, Ooredoo and Unicef sign pact to realise SDGs for children

(MENAFN - The Peninsula) Doha: Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD), Ooredoo Group, and Unicef signed a strategic partnership agreement yesterday to transform the lives of millions of children worldwide as they recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.  In a virtual signing ceremony, attended by Director General of QFFD Khalifa H E Jassim Al Kuwari, Managing Director of Ooredoo Group Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo, and Unicef Executive Director Henrietta Fore, the strategic partners confirmed their shared commitment to realising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for children globally.  In 2015, 193 world leaders declared support for 17 Global Goals intended to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and fix climate change in the 15 years ahead. The strategic partners recognise that these tasks have become more complicated due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact worldwide. At the same time, the threat to public health has made some of these goals more pressing and relevant, such as Goal 3, ‘To ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages,’ as well as Goal 17, ‘To revitalise the global partnership for sustainable development.’  The pandemic’s impact means the world now has to double the rate of progress towards these goals if they are to be achieved by the deadline of 2030. The strategic partnership between Ooredoo, Unicef, and QFFD aims to combine the parties’ global reach, experience, and expertise to accelerate positive outcomes for children and youth.  Under the agreement, Ooredoo, Unicef, and QFFD will develop national-level strategic partnerships to support children’s rights and Unicef programmes across the ten markets in which Ooredoo has operations. The 10 markets are: Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Palestine, Tunisia, Algeria, Indonesia, Iraq, Myanmar, and the Maldives.  Key elements envisaged to be at the core of the national-level partnerships include supporting the global vaccine roll-out to end the pandemic, improving formal and informal education and skilling opportunities for children and youth, and empowering adolescents and engaging them in their communities.  Al Kuwari said,�We are delighted to witness the signing of the memorandum of understanding between Qatar Fund for Development, Ooredoo, and UNICEF to support the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and collaborate in response to emergencies, starting with the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on children and youth. This strategic agreement is the first tripartite agreement for QFFD with the private sector, reflecting our vision of enhancing collaboration with the private sector in our response to global challenges. Thus, it gives me great pleasure to mark the beginning of a promising strategic partnership with Ooredoo and to further cement our longstanding strategic relationship with UNICEF. As they say: if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” �Ooredoo Group enjoys a long, proud history of supporting the communities it operates, from North Africa to Southeast Asia. By partnering with UNICEF and QFFD to improve the lives of children across our markets of operation, we are building lasting legacies of compassion and caring, thus effecting meaningful change in parts of the world that hold a very strong emotional attachment to the Ooredoo family,” commented Ooredoo Group MD.  �The COVID-19 pandemic is continuing to have devastating impacts on children’s lives all around the world. UNICEF is working around the clock with its partners to roll out the biggest global vaccination programme in history to bring an end to the pandemic, and taking action to ensure the world after the pandemic is a better world for every child,” said Henrietta Fore. �Strategic partnerships like the one we are commencing today are key to ensuring we recover the lost ground and accelerate the progress that is so desperately needed for children,” she added.   MENAFN30062021000063011010ID1102367404