Saudi Arabia’s USD 130bln In Aid Has Transformed Millions Of Lives Worldwide

Dr. Abdullah Al Rabeeah, Advisor to the Royal Court and Supervisor General of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), affirmed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has provided more than USD 130.34 billion in humanitarian and relief aid during the period from 1996 to 2024, benefiting 170 countries around the world.
 
The Supervisor General made these remarks during his recent virtual participation in a webinar event organized by the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations on the Kingdom’s relief and humanitarian efforts around the world. The event, which was streamed live on the council’s website, was overseen by its President and CEO, H. Delano Roosevelt.
 
Dr. Al Rabeeah, in his overview of the center’s work, stated that KSrelief aims, through its vision, to be a leading international center for relief and humanitarian activities, by applying the highest global standards in this field as well as best practices related to governance. He emphasized that KSrelief is based on core values of neutrality, transparency, quality, professionalism, initiative, creativity, partnership building, and community support.
 
He explained that KSrelief has implemented around 3,009 projects in 100 countries around the world at a cost of over USD 6.94 billion, covering various vital sectors in partnership with 187 partners from UN and international organizations. He noted that Yemen has received the largest share of KSrelief’s projects, accounting for 64% of total aid, worth over USD 4.466 billion.
 
Dr. Al Rabeeah explained that KSrelief has implemented 992 projects globally specifically for women, from which more than 151 million women have benefited, at a value exceeding USD 653 million. He added that the children’s category is also a priority within the center’s humanitarian projects, and that KSrelief has implemented 926 projects for children, benefiting more than 179 million children at a value exceeding USD 888 million.
 
Regarding refugees in the Kingdom, KSrelief’s Supervisor General explained that the Kingdom is considered one of the countries that hosts the most refugees (visitors) globally, with a total estimated number of 1,093,926 refugees inside the Kingdom, including 561,911 from Yemen, 262,573 from Syria, and 269,442 refugees from Myanmar. The Kingdom provides all refugees with free medical treatment, educational and jobs to help them integrate into Saudi society. 
 
He also touched on the Kingdom’s efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic globally, explaining that the Kingdom has provided more than USD 824,291,000 in this regard, including various medical and preventive assistance to more than 50 countries.
 
Dr. Al Rabeeah said that KSrelief has initiated a number of specialized programs to assist the people of Yemen, including the Saudi Program for Landmine Clearance (MASAM), which has so far successfully extracted more than 453,000 mines from Yemeni territory; the work is carried out by teams of more than 400 experts in the field of mine clearance. He also mentioned the center’s prosthetic limb centers and the CFAAC project to reintegrate children previously associated with armed conflict.
 
In the area of digital initiatives, Dr. Al Rabeeah outlined several successful online platforms, including the Saudi Aid Platform, the Displaced and Refugee Assistance Platform, the Saudi Volunteer Portal, the Electronic Donation Platform (Sahem), and the supervisory and documentation initiatives specialized in humanitarian work.
 
Regarding the assistance provided to some countries recently, Dr. Al Rabeeah affirmed that the Kingdom has been responsive since the first day of the crisis in the Gaza Strip, where the total assistance provided to the Palestinian people has amounted to USD 185 million. It also established an air bridge consisting of 54 aircraft and a maritime bridge consisting of 8 ships, and airdropped high-quality food aid to those affected in the Gaza Strip to address border crossing closures. 
 
Dr. Al Rabeeah also revealed that the Kingdom has provided USD 120 million to Sudan during its current crisis, and the has pledged USD 400 million to Ukraine to alleviate the suffering of those affected by the humanitarian crisis in that country.
 
KSrelief has also launched the “Saudi Sama’a” volunteer medical program in Türkiye to provide hearing rehabilitation and cochlear implants for those affected by the earthquakes in Syria and Turkey; this is the largest volunteer humanitarian program in the world for cochlear implantation and hearing rehabilitation. The program aims to perform 120 cochlear implant surgeries and distribute 375 medical hearing aids to Syrian and Turkish children affected by the earthquake. In all stages of the project, 24 volunteer programs in the field of cochlear implantation will be implemented, benefiting 940 individuals, including intensive rehabilitation programs for the hearing impaired after their surgical procedures.
 
Dr. Al Rabeeah also outlined the work of the Saudi Conjoined Twins Programme since its inception in 1990. The surgical team has reviewed 141 cases from 26 countries across 3 continents and has performed 61 successful conjoined twin separation surgeries. Dr. Al Rabeeah further noted that the United Nations recently designated 24 November as “Global Conjoined Twins Day” to raise awareness about these humanitarian cases and celebrate global achievements in the field of conjoined twin separation. 
 
KSrelief is also holding the first-ever International Conference on Conjoined Twins, under the patronage of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, on 24-25 November of this year in Riyadh. The conference will mark the 30th anniversary of the start of the Saudi Conjoined Twins Programme. Dr. Al Rabeeah also announced that KSrelief will hold its 4th Riyadh International Humanitarian Forum (RIHF) in February 2025.
 
For his part, Mr. Roosevelt praised the humanitarian and relief efforts of KSrelief on behalf of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in providing impartial aid and assistance to people in need around the world.