Thani Bin Abdullah Bin Thani Al-Thani Humanitarian Fund

About the partnership

Since: November 2018

Location: The partnership’s current geographic focus is on four countries: Yemen, Lebanon, Chad and Bangladesh

In April 2019, Thani Bin Abdullah Bin Thani Al-Thani Humanitarian Fund, founded by H.E. Sheikh Thani Bin Abdullah Bin Thani Al-Thani, contributed more than US$35 million in support of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and displaced Yemenis in the form of Zakat through UNHCR. This was the largest contribution UNHCR has ever received from an individual donor and the first major Zakat contribution of its kind.

In 2020, more than US$43 million, were channeled through four separate agreements, to fund UNHCR’s work in support of refugees and displaced people in Yemen, Lebanon, Bangladesh and Chad.

The first part has been directed to Yemen to assist over 600,000 internally displaced people, returnees and extremely vulnerable members of host communities through cash grants to cover their basic needs such as rent, food, education and health-care services.

The second is providing vital monthly cash assistance to 143,000 vulnerable Syrian refugees who are currently living under the poverty line in Lebanon.

The third part of the donation is being implemented in Bangladesh’s Cox Bazar refugee settlements. The aim is to help create sustainable and dignified living conditions for some 84,000 Rohingya refugees and members of the host communities.

Funds for these three operations will be funneled through UNHCR’s Refugee Zakat Fund, a globally trusted structure, governed by UNHCR. The Fund allows individuals and institutions alike to fulfil their Zakat obligations efficiently with 100 per cent of contributions delivered directly to the most vulnerable refugees and internally displaced families.

The fourth section will support shelter, education and health care for 330,000 Sudanese refugees in Chad – including some 10,000 newly displaced Sudanese refugees who fled violence in Darfur since January 2020. These funds will be channeled through UNHCR’s Sadaqah initiative.

Impact at a glance

• Supporting over two million refugees and internally displaced people in Yemen, Lebanon, Bangladesh and Chad
• This contribution of US$43 million is now the largest contribution ever made by an individual donor to UNHCR.
• In October 2019, founder of Thani Bin Abdullah Bin Thani Al-Thani Humanitarian Fund, H.E. Sheikh Thani Bin Abdullah Bin Thani Al-Thani, was bestowed the title of UNHCR’s Eminent Advocate in October 2019.

Sustainable Development Goals in focus

• SDG1 No Poverty
• SDG2 Zero Hunger
• SDG3 Good Health and Well-being
• SDG6 Clean Water and Sanitation