Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — Improving humanitarian responses in light of the increasingly complex nature of global emergencies is the leading theme of the 2nd Riyadh International Humanitarian Forum, which opens in Riyadh today.

This high-level event will bring together humanitarian experts and world leaders to discuss the challenges facing humanitarian action and ways to better assist people in need. The forum will also present recommendations for ways forward.

Commenting on the event, Supervisor General of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, said. "Saudi Arabia is a very important player in the international humanitarian community, ranking between fourth and fifth among top donor countries. We are honored to host the Riyadh International Humanitarian Forum (RIHF) for the second time; our shared goal is to move toward increasing the effectiveness of global humanitarian work."

"At the forum," Dr. Al-Rabeeah added, "we will meet with leading humanitarian experts to discover ways to increase the impact of our work. We must find more innovative ways to effectively reach those in need."

Five main panel discussions, two media sessions and one volunteer event will be held over the two-day event, with nearly 2,000 delegates in attendance. The sessions include: "The Humanitarian-Development Nexus", "Large-scale Migration Flows from Africa Across the Seas to the Gulf States and Europe in Humanitarian Settings", "Women, Children and People with Disabilities in Humanitarian Crisis and the Challenges of Humanitarian Action", "Evidence-based Professional Practice in Humanitarian Intervention", and "Health in Humanitarian Context — Focus on Communicable Diseases".

A number of high-level humanitarian experts will attend the event. They include Dr. Al-Rabeeah; David Beasley, executive director of WFP, and Mark Lowcock, under-secretary general for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. The event will also welcome Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of WHO; Reem Al-Hashimy, UAE minister of state for International Cooperation; Filippo Grandi, the UNHCR high commissioner for refugees; and Henrietta Fore, director of UNICEF.