JEDDAH: The Islamic Development Bank and its development partners including the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development announced the launch of the second phase of the Lives and Livelihoods Fund on the sidelines of the IsDB annual meetings. The launch was attended by the fund’s founding partners, including Mohamed Saif Al-Suwaidi, director general of Abu Dhabi Fund for Development; Chris Elias, president of global development of BMGF; and Hiba Ahmed, director general of Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development. The second phase of the fund mobilizes resources from the IsDB and from donors such as BMGF and the ISFD for the next five years. The committed resources are aimed at supporting 32 member countries of the bank to achieve 10 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. ISFD committed $150 million: $50 million will be used as highly concessional loans and $100 million as temporary cash. BMGF announced its commitment to pledge 20 percent of the total granted by donors to the LLF, with up to $100 million. The second phase of LLF serves as a flexible and efficient way to finance government social development projects to deliver on Sustainable Development Goals. It will continue to promote the equitable expansion of the fund investments and assist lower-income and lower-middle-income countries to optimize their existing financial, human and other resources for high-impact sectors. In an exclusive interview with Arab News, Elias shed light on BMGF’s role. “We are providing through the IsDB, technical assistance and concessional financing to the 32 countries that are eligible. In the first phase of the fund, we committed over $1.44 billion to 37 projects in 22 countries that were focused on primary health care, agriculture, particularly for small farmers, and basic social infrastructure. “We are very excited about the next phase because we’re incorporating what we’ve learned from the first phase. So, we will have a much more intentional focus on women’s empowerment, as well as addressing the effects of climate change, which are hitting particularly small farmers and other poorest individuals in poor countries.”  BMGF is involved in poverty alleviation around the world with a main focus on sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Elias said: “We believe that everyone deserves a chance at a healthy and productive life. So, we work to improve people’s health as well as to create economic opportunities, particularly for the poorest of the poor and the poorest countries.” Muhammad Al-Jasser, president of IsDB, said: “We all know that long-term food security is not benchmarked by crop yields and strong markets alone. It is also gauged by the survival of a child, the health of a mother, and the resilience of a community. Your continued support and commitment will make it possible for millions of people to pave their way out of poverty.” He also highlighted the establishment of enhanced operational and monitoring systems under LLF’s second phase to drive more investments in ending the devastating consequences of hunger, poverty and disease. Ahmed stated that the evaluation of ISFD’s participation in the first phase of LLF showed that the original objectives set for its contributions are all met in a satisfactory manner.  Since its creation in 2016, the fund has invested more than $1.4 billion in 22 IsDB member countries. Its financing is benefitting more than three million small farmers to improve their productivity and livelihoods, providing access to quality health care for 12.5 million women and children, and is set to provide more than 7.5 million people with better water and sanitation facilities.