Kuwait\'s IICO hosts humanitarian response conference

Kuwait\'s International Islamic Charitable Organization (IICO) is hosting the Fourth Annual Conference for Effective Partnership and Information Sharing for Better Humanitarian Action, in cooperation with Kuwaiti Direct Aid charitable committee and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). In press remarks on the event, set for September 17-19, IICO Chairman Dr. Abdullah Al-Matouq said the conference is held under the auspices of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah. The focus would be on topics including the role of youth and of the private sector in humanitarian action, as well as unconventional venues in the field of humanitarian response. The participants would also form working groups to tackle more private sector involvement in terms of opportunities, mechanisms, and challenges, he said. The sessions would review some innovative practices in the field by Arab institutions and modules of aid and services provided to Syrian refugees within and beyond Syrian territory. There would also be review of examples of the working mechanisms of donor countries and bodies in the Arab region and the policies regarding support provided to humanitarian action. There would be particular focus on examples of how strategic partnerships could promote humanitarian response work. There would also be case studies on strategic partnerships in emergency situations and review of examples of successful partnerships of this kind in the Arab region, Al-Matouq remarked. One important goal of the conference, he added, is to consider new means to bolster efficiency of cooperation among the private sector, NGOs, and international humanitarian and relief organizations. The role of information technology in supporting action in this field is also a topic, he said, and how it could increase volume of response and actual product of effort, and the participants would assess the state of affairs of humanitarian partnerships in the Arab region in this respect, compared to other parts of the world. Amid the increase of volume of both victims and damage resulting from natural disasters, which register unprecedented levels day after day, effective partnerships are closer to the core of humanitarian response than ever before, Al-Matouq pointed out. This is further stressed by the constantly growing volume of humanitarian aid needed which means there is a growing need for mechanisms, information sharing protocols, and strategic planning if humanitarian response is to come close to target. The conference would consider feasible coordination mechanisms and guarantees for transparency and accountability, and also consider Arab partnerships with leading international aid agencies and stress the need for new communication channels among local, regional, and international relief bodies. The list of participants for the fourth conference includes Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Dr. Abdul Latif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Sabah Khalid Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, and UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos. Also taking part are the IICO Chairman, who also serves as Amiri Diwan Advisor and UN Secretary General Envoy for Humanitarian Affairs, the Board Chairman of Direct Aid Dr. Abdulrahman Al-Muhailan, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Assistant Secretary General Ambassador Atta Al-Mannan, along with Assistant Secretary General at Arab League for Humanitarian Affairs Ambassador Faeqa Al-Saleh.