The Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) and Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Sunday announced the foundation of a special fund to take care of children orphaned by the Tsunami disaster. Dubbed The Organization of the Islamic Conference Alliance for Tsunami Child Victims, the fund is expected to provide some 35,000 disaster victims on the Sumatra island of Indonesia with much needed financial aid and assistance. In this connection, a task force jointly setup by the OIC and the IDB has finished considering ways of providing relief and care for 35,000 child disaster victims on the Sumatra island of Indonesia, according to a statement issued on behalf of Malaysian Prime Minister Ahmad Badawi, who chairs the OIC and IDB President Ahmad Mohamed Ali. The International Center for Biosaline Agriculture of the Islamic Development Bank, which is based in Dubai, will launch an environmental project designed to revive plant life along the disaster-stricken coastlines, the statement added. Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Saud Al-Faisal played a key role in presenting and forging the agreement between the OIC and the bank, according to the statement. Earlier, the IDB had announced the allocation of some US$500 million as assistance to Tsunami victims in Indonesia, the Maldives, Somalia, Thailand, India and Sri Lanka. The money will be spent on relief and reconstruction in the countries affected, particularly in sectors such as education, health, water supply, energy and transport, the statement said.
