IslamicFinance.de

The United Nations Refugee Agency has launched a new global structure that transforms UNHCR’s existing Zakat programme into a global fund. UNHCR unveiled its 'UNHCR Zakat Program: 2019 Launch Report', which shows that global Zakat giving stands at $76 billion worldwide, and could potentially reach an amount as high as $356 billion. According to Houssam Chahine, UNHCR’s Head of Private Sector Partnerships, it was inevitable for the Zakat program to evolve into a structure that better appeals to the global Islamic finance industry. The Fund allows UNHCR to be even more transparent. The decision to restructure the Zakat program into the global Refugee Zakat Fund is due to the high donor turnout UNHCR has witnessed in the past years.