RIYADH — Advisor at the Royal Court and Supervisor General of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) Dr. Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeeah stressed that Saudi Arabia has offered over $94.6 billion as humanitarian and relief aid between 1996 and 2022, which benefited 164 countries.

Dr. Al-Rabeeah made the remarks Tuesday during the virtual meeting that was organized by the National Council on US‑Arab Relations under the theme “Global relief and humanitarian assistance of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”, where he reviewed the efforts of Saudi Arabia, represented by KSrelief, across the globe.

The supervisor general said that the center since its establishment in 2015 has implemented around 2,000 humanitarian projects in 84 countries with a value exceeding $5.767 billion, which included food security, education, health, protection, and nutrition.

He noted that these projects have been carried out in partnership with 175 UN and international organizations, pointing out that Yemen accounted for the biggest share of these schemes with 71% of the total assistance of the center through more than 700 humanitarian projects with a value of more than $4 billion.

Dr. Al-Rabeeah also noted that that center has implemented 815 projects dedicated for women around the world, benefiting 113 million women with a value exceeding $533 million.

He added that children also constitute a priority for KSrelief projects, where the center implemented 730 projects for children benefiting more than 146 million children with a value of around $769 million.

He also said that the center has implemented more than 200 voluntary programs in medical, educational and training fields, among others, noting that the number of beneficiaries of these programs totaled almost 483,000 in 22 countries, while voluntary medical programs conducted more than 50,000 surgeries.

As for refugees in Saudi Arabia, the supervisor general noted that Saudi Arabia is among the top countries receiving refugees (visitors) with an estimated total of 1,074,153, including 561,911 from Yemen, 262,573 from Syria and 249,669 from Myanmar.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia provides them with free access to health and education services and is keen on integrating them into the society through hosting them in all regions of Saudi Arabia.

He also referred to Saudi Arabia’s efforts in combating the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic at the international level, where Saudi Arabia has provided more than $850.825 million, including medical and preventive assistance to more than 34 countries.

He added that Saudi Arabia’s support to produce and distribute vaccines as part of the G20 initiative stood at $500 million, including $150 million for the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), $150 million for the Vaccine Alliance (GAVI) and $200 for international and UN organizations.

Dr. Al-Rabeeah said: The center took the initiative to establish several qualitative programs to help the Yemeni people, such as Saudi Project for Landmine Clearance (MASAM) that so far succeeded in clearing more than 342,000 mines from Yemeni lands through more than 400 experts in demining.

He also reviewed the humanitarian efforts of Saudi Arabia through the Saudi program to separate Siamese twins, noting that the program has studied 122 cases so far from 23 countries in three continents, conducting 51 separation surgeries for Siamese and parasitic twins that all were successful.

Dr. Al-Rabeeah added that Saudi Arabia has also a leading role in the international humanitarian work, referring to the close partnership between Saudi Arabia, represented by KSrelief, and the USA, represented by US Agency for International Development (USAID), noting that this partnership is a perfect model to increase the influence of humanitarian work.

He also noted that KSrelief is scheduled to organize the third Riyadh International Humanitarian Forum between Feb. 20 and 21, 2023, where the event seeks to engage effective humanitarian institutions in discussions on challenges and opportunities related to humanitarian assistance.

For his part, National Council on US-Arab Relations Founding President and CEO Dr. John Duke Anthony praised the relief and humanitarian efforts of Saudi Arabia that reached the entire globe without any discrimination. — SPA