Lives & Livelihoods Fund

The Lives and Livelihoods Fund (Arabic: صندوق العيش والمعيشة‎) (LLF) is a $2.5 billion multilateral development initiative created by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) , the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the State of Qatar, and most recently the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (December 2019). According to Gulf News, the five year fund is the "largest ever Middle-East based, fully-multilateral development initiative".[1] In 2015 The Economist reported on the fund creation for tackling poverty and ill health in the Muslim world, and that the IsDB and BMGF sought to collaborate in the fund with Gulf countries.[2] The fund started its operations in September 2016.[3] Dr. Waleed Addas is the Head of the Lives and Livelihoods Fund, Islamic Development Bank.

Financing Model
LLF Blended Finance Model

The LLF is a collaboration between the IsDB and Donor partners[4] bringing an innovative financing solution for 33 of the member countries of the Bank.

Donor grants are blended with ordinary capital resources (OCR) to provide concessional financing for IsDB member countries. For projects in the least developed member countries (LDMCs), LLF offers ~35% grant portions and 65% IsDB OCR financing (indivisible). The International Monetary Fund rules allow lower middle-income countries (LMICs) to borrow at market rates, the Lives and Livelihoods Fund offers packages of 10% grant portion and 90% ordinary financing, which makes loans significantly cheaper for the recipient countries.

The blending results in substantially more funds, at concessional rates, made available for social development projects in geographies where they are most needed. The concessionality is leveraged to target key drivers of poverty in the beneficiary countries.

Targeting the most vulnerable

The Fund targets investments towards key drivers of poverty in the most marginalized groups. Projects are finances in health, agriculture, and basic infrastructure sectors in member countries. Health projects focus on primary healthcare system strengthening, and control/elimination of infectious diseases. Agriculture projects are geared towards increasing the productivity of smallholder farmers. Basic infrastructure investments support projects such as generating and distributing off-grid rural power, installing small-scale water and sanitation schemes, and setting up mobile communications for digital payments.

Countries Eligible for LLF Financing

The Lives and Livelihoods Fund enables the least developed member countries of the Islamic Development Bank to finance projects that will help lift millions out of poverty.

Countries Eligible for LLF Financing
Afghanistan Burkina Faso Comoros Egypt* Guinea Bissau Maldives Morocco* Nigeria* Senegal Sudan Uganda
Bangladesh Cameroon Cote d' Ivoire The Gambia Indonesia* Mali Mozambique Pakistan Sierra Leone Tajikistan Uzbekistan*
Benin Chad Djibouti Guinea Kyrgyz Republic Mauritania Niger Palestine Somalia Togo Yemen

*(Countries in BOLD) Eligible for 10% grant vs 35% for others.

Financing Domains and allocations

Health projects are allotted 20-60% of the total LLF funding. Health projects which are eligible for LLF financing focus on:

  • Combating infectious diseases like malaria
  • HIV/AIDS, polio and neglected tropical diseases
  • Ensuring routine immunization coverage
  • Strengthening primary healthcare systems for equitable access to quality healthcare services.

Agriculture projects are allotted 20-60% of the total LLF funding. Agriculture projects which are eligible for LLF financing focus on:

  • Boosting production of staple crops and livestock by smallholder farmers and pastoralists – those who produce 80% of food in key regions
  • Providing smallholder farmers and producers with better access to markets and technology
  • Increasing women's empowerment in agriculture
  • Increasing access to, and consumption of, a nutritious diet
  • Increasing income stability among smallholder farmers, including through favoring entrepreneurship.

Basic Infrastructure projects will be allotted a maximum of 20% of the total LLF funding. The projects which are eligible for LLF financing focus on:

  • Providing better access to water and sanitation services
  • Improving access to a reliable electric supply
  • Providing greater access to mobile and digital communications
  • Increasing protection from flooding for individuals, housing and community facilities.


LLF Projects and developmental impact
LLF Project Portfolio (2016-20)

The LLF Impact Committee have approved projects worth over US$1.5 billion in the first five years (2016-2020) since the Fund's inception. These projects are spread across Sub-Saharan Africa, MENA, and Asia.

The maiden Annual Reports of the LLF was published in 2017. The following Annual Reports of the Lives and Livelihoods Fund are available to-date:

The LLF and its investments in health, agriculture, and basic infrastructure projects are featured in a number of IsDB reports including, but not limited to:

The LLF and its role in achieving the SDGs in IsDB Member countries was recently featured in the INOMICS HANDBOOK for 2020.

References
  1. "Bill Gates teams up with Gulf states to fight poverty". Gulf News. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
  2. "Bill Gates and the IDB - Two-pronged attack: Western and Middle Eastern donors pool cash and expertise". The Economist. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
  3. "Bill Gates-inspired anti-poverty initiative takes shape in Jeddah". Arab News. Retrieved 2017-08-07.
  4. Donor Partners include the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD). King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) Archived 2019-05-02 at the Wayback Machine, the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD), and most recently the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

https://english.alarabiya.net/en/views/news/middle-east/2017/05/22/A-development-solution-from-the-Muslim-world.html http://www.isdb-pilot.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/A-Guide-to-the-Lives-and-Livelihoods-Funds.pdf

https://www.isdb.org/partnership/lives-and-livelihoods-fund


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