Qatar Fund for Development signs a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Commonwealth Affairs
Qatar Fund for Development signs a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Commonwealth Affairs
To protect and meet the basic needs of children in northwestern Syria
Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Commonwealth Affairs (FCDO) to jointly respond to the increasing needs of the most vulnerable children in North West Syria.
This year the Syrian Arab Republic enters a tenth year of conflict, with families and communities continuing to experience violence, displacement, poverty, and the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. Access to basic services continue to be restricted, with 2.5 million children remaining out of school, and 6.8 million children and education professionals classified as ‘people in need’ of education assistance. In light of this, the Qatar Fund for Development’s contribution poses a critical lifeline sustaining educational services in Syria.
QFFD support represents a fundamental and sustainable investment that will aid children and teachers and improve their living conditions in Idlib and Aleppo governorates. This collaboration between QFFD’s QUEST Education initiative and the FCDO will complement QFFD’s vision of giving hope and promoting peace and justice and capacity building inside Syria, supporting 130,000 children and 5,731 teachers across 435 schools.
The agreement was signed by Mr. Misfer Al-Shahwani, Deputy Director General of Development Projects of QFFD, and from FCDO Maria Wyard, Head of the Syria humanitarian protection and early recovery team.
The contributions of QFFD will make a big difference in particular for teachers, through the payment of 5,731 teacher stipends for the remainder of the 2021 academic year. This acknowledges the critical function that teachers play and the difference – both life-saving and life-sustaining – that they make to children in one of the most challenging contexts in the world.
Mr. Misfer Al-Shahwani, commented: “The past 5 years, the State of Qatar has pledged and fulfilled its commitments of over 500 million dollars in support of international efforts to respond to the humanitarian needs arising from the Syria crisis. For this reason, QFFD’s funding for the Syria Educational Program has come at a crucial time. It will provide support to those who would have been deprived of their education in the middle of the school year due to the lack of financial resources. We are also pleased to seize this opportunity to strengthen our partnership with FCDO, and to work together towards a brighter future.”
His Excellency Mr. Jon Wilks, Ambassador of the United Kingdom in Doha, noted that: “One third of children in Syria remain out of school ten years into the Syria crisis. This conflict is indiscriminate in who it affects, disrupting the education and opportunities available for girls and boys. Thanks to the new partnership between QFFD and FCDO we will improve the education prospects for children in Syria, providing high quality literacy, numeracy, and wellbeing sessions.”
His Excellency Mr. Yousef Ali Al-Khater, Ambassador of Qatar in the United Kingdom, commented:” Qatar and the UK have always understood how vital it is to place Syria’s future generations at the centre of our response to this crisis. The collaboration between our two countries through our longstanding multiyear educational initiatives seeks to bring hope, knowledge and resilience to people in dire need of assistance in Syria who continue to experience violence, displacement and poverty and deserve the chance to fulfill their potential.”
The project aims to provide critical resources that will ensure the sustainability and safeguarding the continuation of the educational process.
- Geography Syrian Arab Republic
- Timeline 2021 - 2021
- SDGS Quality EducationPartnerships
- Sector Education
- Partner MOFA Foreign & Commonwealth Office