Islamic Relief Reaches 3.2 Million People in 29 Countries
Islamic Relief Worldwide says its qurbani donations reached 3.2 million people in 29 countries last year, with meat distributed to vulnerable people most in need. Iftikhar Ahmed Shaheen said the work is "one of the world’s largest acts of charitable redistribution," and said, "For many it is the only meat they will eat this month and a vital source of protein to stave off malnutrition."
Qurbani reaches vulnerable families
The scale matters because the organization says qurbani meat is often the only meat recipients will eat that month. For families facing hunger now, the distribution is not an abstract donation cycle but a direct source of protein at a time when many households have little else to rely on.
Shaheen said the qurbani effort shows how faith-based giving can fill part of the gap left by shrinking public budgets. Islamic Relief Worldwide said global hunger has doubled again in the last decade, while some governments are slashing humanitarian and development funding by up to 45% globally.
Mali and longer-term food security
Islamic Relief Worldwide says its Qurbani Plus approach links livestock, agriculture and finance to build longer-term food security and livelihoods. In rural Mali, the approach is being used to support women’s social inclusion and economic empowerment, and families involved in the program have seen their average monthly income more than double.
In the same areas of rural Mali, the number of children eating a decent diet has also more than doubled. That puts the organization’s short-term meat distribution beside a longer-term effort to strengthen household income and food access, rather than relying on a single seasonal delivery.
Middle East pressure on hunger
The organization also links the Middle East crisis to wider pressure on hunger far beyond the region. It says the Middle East sits at the heart of global energy, food and fertiliser systems, with 20% of global liquefied natural gas and 20% to 30% of global oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Against that backdrop, the gap is stark: around 673 million people, or 8% of the world’s population, do not have enough to eat and regularly go hungry. The next step for Islamic Relief Worldwide is to keep expanding the same kind of distribution and longer-term support that it says reached 3.2 million people last year.
