Today's Edition
BATOOL GHAITH (ABU DHABI)
The UAE’s reputation as a global hub for philanthropy comes into sharper focus during the holy month Ramadan, when the values of giving, compassion and charity take centre stage.
In 2025, the country was among the leading contributors to the zakat and sadaqah funds raised by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), a recent report has revealed.
According to UNHCR’s Islamic Philanthropy Annual Impact Report 2025, about 60% of its zakat and sadaqah funding came from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar ranked among the top sources of these contributions, underscoring the region’s growing role in humanitarian financing.
In total, the UNHCR raised $39.47 million through Islamic charitable giving in 2025, which supported more than 1.03 million displaced people across 25 countries.
Speaking to Aletihad, Dr Khaled Khalifa, Senior Adviser and UNHCR Representative to the GCC countries, said the UAE’s contribution to the agency’s Islamic philanthropy initiatives has proven pivotal in both emergency response and longer-term refugee support.
One key partner is the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI), which helped the UNHCR assist around 70,000 forcibly displaced people in 2025 across countries including Bangladesh, Botswana, India, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Tunisia.
The aid funded emergency response programmes, food security assistance, livelihoods initiatives, and water, sanitation and hygiene projects, demonstrating how UAE-backed humanitarian initiatives extend far beyond the region.
Home for a Home
Private sector partnerships have also become an important channel for mobilising support. Sharjah-based developer Arada has partnered with UNHCR and The Big Heart Foundation on its “Home for Home” initiative.
Now in its fourth year, the programme has a simple mission: for every home sold in Arada’s projects during Ramadan, a home rises for a family in need elsewhere in the world.
To date, the initiative has provided durable housing for more than 3,300 refugees, while establishing water infrastructure that benefits more than 43,000 people in northern Kenya.
In Chad, it has provided shelter for more than 14,000 Sudanese refugees and improved access to clean water for around 30,000 individuals.
Khalifa described the initiative as an example of support that goes beyond emergency aid. “It helps refugees restore a sense of stability, dignity and normalcy after displacement.”
The impact of such partnerships is best understood through the lives they transform. South Sudanese refugee Jenthy Simon, who fled to Kenya with her two children in 2017, initially lived in a fragile makeshift shelter in the Kalobeyei settlement made from plastic sheets.
Through the “Home for Home” initiative, implemented by UNHCR in partnership with Arada and The Big Heart Foundation, Simon and her family were able to build a durable home and latrine. Since then, their living conditions have significantly improved.
Beyond housing support, UAE-based initiatives have also mobilised large-scale humanitarian assistance through public fundraising campaigns.
The MBRGI partnered with UNHCR in initiatives such as the “100 Million Meals” and later the “1 Billion Meals” Ramadan campaign, which supported food assistance programmes for displaced communities across Asia and Africa.
Through these efforts and other humanitarian programmes, the MBRGI’s contributions have reached around 800,000 refugees, internally displaced persons, asylum-seekers and host communities.
The Value of Islamic Philanthropy
These partnerships are part of a wider ecosystem of Islamic social finance that has expanded steadily in recent years. Since its establishment in 2017, UNHCR’s Refugee Zakat Fund has supported more than 9.9 million displaced people worldwide, Khalifa said.
According to Khalifa, Islamic philanthropy is increasingly becoming a structural component of humanitarian financing.
“Zakat, by its nature as an annual religious obligation for Muslims, carries an inherent degree of regularity and sustainability,” he explained.
To strengthen donor confidence, the UNHCR’s Refugee Zakat Fund operates under 18 religious fatwas confirming its compliance with Sharia principles, alongside systems designed to ensure transparency and traceability so that contributions reach eligible families directly.
The growing importance of Islamic philanthropy also comes at a time “when humanitarian agencies are facing one of the most severe funding crises in recent history”, Khalifa said.
The UNHCR received $3.5 billion in contributions in 2025, approximately 28% less than in 2024. As a result, around 11.6 million forcibly displaced people risk losing direct humanitarian assistance due to funding shortages, he added.
Against this backdrop, Khalifa said partnerships with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries – particularly the UAE – remain critical to sustaining Islamic philanthropy programmes both within the MENA region and beyond.
“GCC-based private donors provide not only substantial financial resources but also a strong commitment to values of solidarity, dignity and shared responsibility, principles closely aligned with UNHCR’s humanitarian mandate,” he added.
