Astana, 29th October – The Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS), led by Ambassador Khusrav Noziri, Assistant Director General of IOFS, attended the Donors' Conference to Support Displaced People and Refugees in the Sahel and Lake Chad Region. This critical conference, hosted in Jeddah by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), was organized in cooperation with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), with coordination from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The conference aimed to mobilize resources for urgent humanitarian and development initiatives supporting communities severely impacted by conflict, displacement, and food insecurity in the Sahel and Lake Chad regions. By bringing together international leaders, government representatives, and prominent aid organizations, the event highlighted a shared commitment to address the critical needs of displaced individuals and refugees across the region.
During the event, IOFS’s delegation engaged in multiple high-level discussions with key stakeholders, focusing on strengthening partnerships and aligning efforts on shared humanitarian priorities. Ambassador Noziri held discussions with His Excellency Ambassador Tariq Ali Bakheet, Assistant Secretary General for Humanitarian Affairs at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Their meeting emphasized collaboration in humanitarian initiatives across the Sahel and Lake Chad regions, with a particular focus on IOFS's support for capacity-building in water management, livestock, food production, and sustainable livelihoods. Through coordination with the OIC Regional Mission in Niger, both sides underscored the importance of the humanitarian-development-peace (HDP) nexus to bolster food security and refugee support across member states in the region. Ambassador Bakheet commended the Islamic Organization for Food Security’s impactful humanitarian efforts, notably in Afghanistan under the Afghanistan Food Security Program (AFSP), and expressed a commitment to deepen cooperation in IOFS’s focal areas.
Ambassador Noziri further engaged with Mr. Fahad Al-Osaimi, Director of Emergency Relief at KSrelief, discussing potential collaborations to address humanitarian crises in Afghanistan, Yemen, Palestine, and Sudan. Both parties agreed to initiate technical consultations to explore collaborative project implementations, enhancing their shared commitment to food security and resilience-building in conflict-affected communities. In line with this agenda, Ambassador Noziri held a productive consultation with Mr. Carl Skau, Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), exploring synergies between IOFS’s reach within member countries and WFP’s expertise. Their discussions centered on coordinated food security initiatives and building climate-resilient agricultural systems to alleviate food insecurity in vulnerable regions.
Ambassador Noziri also met with Mr. Raouf Mazou, Assistant High Commissioner for Operations at UNHCR, where they discussed collaborative approaches to alleviate pressures on host countries, address root causes of displacement, and promote climate-resilient agricultural practices for stabilized food supplies in fragile regions. The IOFS-UNHCR partnership aims to deliver solutions that empower host communities and address the factors driving displacement. Additionally, the IOFS delegation engaged with representatives from the European Union, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), and the European Commission’s Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO). These discussions focused on expanding partnerships to support IOFS’s objectives, specifically in strengthening food security and resilience initiatives across OIC member states through a coordinated multilateral response.
The conference highlighted a crisis often overshadowed by other global events, bringing urgent attention to over 33 million people across Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, and Mali who face severe consequences from conflict, displacement, and critical food insecurity. Leaders and donors emphasized the importance of a unified response and committed to immediate action to meet the needs of affected populations. At the event’s conclusion, donor commitments exceeded $1.1 billion, including substantial in-kind contributions from over ten donor countries, agencies, and organizations. This collective effort underscores the international community’s dedication to addressing one of the most pressing humanitarian crises and building resilience for communities in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin.
