Islamic Development Bank and Community Jameel launch strategic partnership to address pressing development challenges in IsDB member countries

‍The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and Community Jameel have announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to launch a strategic partnership aimed at tackling pressing global challenges including poverty, disease, hunger and the impacts of climate change in IsDB member countries, which have a combined population of over 2 billion people.

Signed by the IsDB group chairman, His Excellency Dr Muhammad Al Jasser, and Mohammed Jameel KBE, founder and chairman of Community Jameel, the MoU reaffirms the longstanding relationship between Community Jameel and the IsDB. In June 2022, both organisations announced their collaboration at the IsDB annual meetings in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, to promote evidence-based policymaking through the launch of policy labs embedded in governments.

HE Dr Muhammad Al Jasser expressed the Bank’s enthusiasm for the collaboration, stating: "We play a pivotal role in empowering our member countries in critical areas such as healthcare and poverty alleviation. Our commitment to addressing the challenge of climate change is deeply embedded across all sectors, with a target of directing 35% of our financing towards climate-related initiatives. Partnering with Community Jameel allows us to leverage our combined expertise to deliver innovative, impactful solutions that address the diverse challenges facing our member countries."

Mohammed Jameel KBE, founder and chairman, Community Jameel, said: "Science and evidence lie at the heart of our work at Community Jameel. We are committed to empowering communities and offering sustainable solutions to pressing global challenges. From climate change to education enhancement, our partnership with IsDB aims to identify impactful policies and solve critical issues within its member countries."

The partnership will centre on several critical development issues including food security and sustainable urban design to address the challenges posed by climate change. It will also focus on informing public health responses to emerging threats and leveraging data and rigorous evidence to enhance policy design.

IsDB and Community Jameel will also collaborate with the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) to advance evidence-based policymaking. In June 2024, the IsDB and Community Jameel supported a knowledge-sharing exchange between Egyptian and Indonesian policymakers, organised as part of the IsDB’s technical cooperation programme in collaboration with J-PAL’s offices in Cairo and Jakarta and the Egypt Impact Lab.

IsDB and Community Jameel will also explore opportunities to address risks to public health resulting from several factors, including climate change and a rise in non-communicable diseases, through the Jameel Institute, which aims to curb the adverse impact of emerging threats to public health by working to strengthen health policy and improve understanding of diseases and fortify linkages between governments, research institutions and communities to shape policy and deliver effective solutions.

The two organisations will also work with the Jameel Clinic AI Hospital Network, which seeks to roll multiple cutting-edge artificial intelligence tools into mainstream healthcare facilities. 

In the face of ever-growing threats from climate change, Community Jameel and the IsDB will also explore leveraging data, forecasting and technology through the Jameel Observatory to anticipate and adapt to the short- and long-term effects of climate change on the agriculture sector and pastoralism in member countries, in order to ensure their food security.​