One out of three Islamic Development Bank member living in poverty

One out of every three member states of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) is living in poverty, said the bank’s President Dr Muhammed Al-Jasser.

Al-Jasser was speaking at the 16^th World Bank Forum on Islamic Finance themed “Poverty Reduction Through Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship” on the sidelines of the IDB group’s annual meetings, currently being held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

Al-Jasser said the economic crisis that resulted from the Corona virus pandemic has increased poverty rates and inequality of opportunities worldwide, adding that there are more than half a billion people around the world who have fallen under the poverty line during the pandemic.

The fight against poverty has always been at the forefront of the objectives of the bank’s partnerships with member states and various institutions, he said.

“The pandemic prompted us to intensify efforts, as we studied optimal cooperation with member states to reduce poverty, expanded partnership with the Oxford Initiative, and presented an integrated initiative with more development projects,” Al-Jasser said.

Some member states succeeded in reducing poverty and reducing the effects of the pandemic, and there are many experiences that contributed to achieving positive results for those affected, he noted.

Al-Jasser said there is a global consensus that the problems facing the world are difficult to deal with governmentally only, calling for the need to join the efforts of funding institutions, development agencies, and civil society through innovative solutions that enhance social responsibility.

IsDB Institute Acting Director-General, Dr. Sami Al-Suwailem explained that Islamic finance has a significant impact on the lives of member states, hence the focus on social innovation and social responsibility.

He said the fight against poverty is at the forefront of Islamic finance.

IsDB, at the end of the forum, launched a training course on Islamic finance, which is aimed at deepening awareness of its concept in the member countries of the bank and other countries around the world.