Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD), Ooredoo Group and UNICEF have signed on Tuesday a strategic partnership agreement, which aims to transform the lives of millions of children around the world as they recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the agreement, Ooredoo, UNICEF and QFFD will develop national-level strategic partnerships to support childrens rights and UNICEF programmes across the 10 markets in which Ooredoo has operations; namely, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Palestine, Tunisia, Algeria, Indonesia, Iraq, Myanmar and 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.

HE Khalifa Al Kuwari, Qatar Fund for Development Director General, 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, which reflects 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 in which 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," said Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo, Managing Director of Ooredoo Group.

"The COVID-19 pandemic is continuing to have devastating impacts on childrens 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, UNICEF Executive Director. "Strategic partnerships like the one we are commencing today are key to ensuring we recover the lost ground and accelerate progress that is so desperately needed for children," she added. (QNA)