Agility partners with the UNHCR to boost refugee service in Malaysia
Donation to support 12,000 refugees
DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 25: Agility, a leading global logistics provider, and UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, announced a partnership that will strengthen the delivery of essential services to refugees in Malaysia, in particular for vulnerable communities living outside of the country’s capital.
The partnership, announced at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting at Davos, will establish pilot programs in Johor and Penang, Malaysia. The programs will bring critically needed services to more than 12,000 refugees, including refugee card renewal, access to essential information related to protection, and to receive counseling on available services.
There are some 178,000 refugees registered with UNHCR in Malaysia. The new partnership with Agility will allow UNHCR to further extend support to more than 12,000 refugees, most of them Rohingyas from Myanmar. With local engagement and support, Agility and UNHCR will eliminate the need for vulnerable refugees to travel 300+ kilometers from their homes to Kuala Lumpur to have access to vital services, including refugee card renewal.
Agility CEO Tarek Sultan said: “As a Kuwaiti, I’ve been inspired by His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah’s tremendous contributions to addressing humanitarian needs globally. UNHCR’s services are critical to giving refugees and families a safe place in times of turmoil. The services provided by UNHCR will help support a stronger sense of community for refugees who have been forced to flee their homes and villages. Agility has long supported UNHCR in the Middle East. We see a need to expand our partnership to help meet the needs of refugees in Malaysia.”
H.R.H. Prince Jaime de Bourbon de Parme, Senior Advisor for Private Sector Partnerships, UNHCR, said, “Agility’s contribution is an important demonstration of solidarity from the Kuwait private sector and one that will improve the safety and well-being of thousands of refugees in Malaysia, a country that has a long history of hosting displaced populations. The global size and scale of displacement requires us to go beyond the business as usual approach and I am confident that Agility’s gesture will inspire the private sector to upscale its support to refugees.”