Assalamu alaykum
Peace be upon you all.

2009 was a time of continued economic uncertainty in many countries and increased hunger for millions of people. A recent report of the UN’s Special Rapporteur estimates that 854 million people suffer from a lack of food and that every five seconds a child under ten dies from hunger or malnutrition related diseases.

These figures represent a year-on-year increase since the late 1990s and they are not as a result of any shortage of food. On the contrary, the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation estimate that there is enough food grown to feed around 12 billion people – that’s double the world’s current population.

Natural and man-made disasters, of course, make the situation even worse and Islamic Relief was able to respond during 2009 to Cyclone Alia in Bangladesh and the Sumatra earthquake in Indonesia, as well as to the terrible suffering that ensued from the fighting in Gaza, northwest Pakistan and Northern Yemen.

Last year was also the 25th anniversary of the founding of Islamic Relief. In that time, we have supported over two million people in over 40 countries and our theme for the anniversary was around the further empowerment of beneficiaries through greater self-sufficiency and a realisation of their God-given potential.

Internally, we have successfully completed our change process, which is designed to make us a more efficient, effective and responsive international NGO. Likewise, the global governance project, currently underway, seeks to link all our international partners and field offices within a newly-framed agreement and structure that reflects the complexity and needs of our global profile and role.

This report presents the achievements and finances of the organisation for 2009. It also represents the exemplary generosity of our donors and the continued hard work of our staff and volunteers – without whom none of our relief or development work would be possible. I would, therefore, like to thank everyone who has been involved in making such a positive difference to so many people around the world. May this work today help us reach even more individuals and communities in the future, insha’Allah.

Saleh Saeed
CEO of Islamic Relief Worldwide
September 2010