KSrelief counting on region to help fill UNRWA funding gap

Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
Dr Abdullah Al Rabeeah, supervisor general of Saudi’s top aid agency KSrelief, said Riyadh and regional and international partners are working to fill the funding gaps for the UN agency working for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) caused by major donor cuts.
“We are counting on other partners in the region and beyond,” Dr Al Rabeeah told The National in an interview on the sidelines of the Human Capability Initiative (HCI) conference in Riyadh.
The Saudi agency provided more than $15 million in financial support to UNRWA last November and works closely with it on the ground in Gaza to help civilians, which Dr Al Rabeeah says is the aim of KSrelief and his country in this crisis.
“UNRWA is the largest and most capable organisation on the ground so we will continue to support it in order to reach poor civilians who are at risk of famine and epidemic diseases”.
The freeze from 14 countries came after claims that a small number of the agency’s staff were involved in Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, which UNRWA denies.
“We also hope that the global funders will revisit their stance and to be able to continue support for UNRWA. It is in the end a UN agency and it is helping poor civilians, so supporting it means supporting those at risk in Gaza,” Dr Al Rabeeah said.
KSrelief is the humanitarian arm of the kingdom for delivering aid and relief beyond its borders. As the Muslim world prepares for Ramadan, food and medical aid supplies are being prioritised.
Dr Al Rabeeah said KSrelief was in constant communication with other humanitarian groups in the ravaged Gaza Strip, because “we don’t want the people to suffer the combined effects of famine and fasting” during the holy month.
In response to concerning reports of malnutrition facing vulnerable people in the strip, especially women and children, Dr Al Rabeeah said KSrelief’s priorities are to provide food and shelter for Gazans, but it is also looking at the health care of children and the protection of women and the elderly.
Aligned with the @UN Flash Appeal, the plan targets priority areas of the Health and Nutrition component. Immediate attention is essential for procuring and distributing essential health supplies to address the crisis in Gaza.@KSRelief | @KSRelief_EN #Partnerships4Health pic.twitter.com/yMLnuozGpY
Reflecting on the conflict in Yemen, Dr Al Rabeeah said Saudi Arabia’s stance has been to reach all governorates in the country, and to help Yemenis “irrespective of their belongings and the respect of their ethnic group. Our aim is to see Yemen safe, stable and prosperous”.
Previously a paediatric surgeon, Dr Al Rabeeah, who was the kingdom’s health minister until May 2015, emphasised the continued need to support war-torn Yemen in fighting epidemics.
“We have been very active and responsive to local epidemics and pandemics starting with the cholera endemic which happened in 2017, which we managed with our partners to control. We have also programs to control dengue fever, which was also successful. We have also had programs during Covid,” he said.
Since its founding, KSrelief has delivered relief to 95 countries and initiated more than 2,700 projects directly and bilaterally with UN agencies, international and national NGOs, providing more than $6.4 billion in aid, it says.
The humanitarian agency has also raised an impressive amount of money through its Sahem Platform, a public relief campaign for the Palestinian people in Gaza.
“I’m proud to say we are approaching $170 million in donations coming from the public on Sahem.”
KSrelief with its partners, the UN and @WFP_MENA, are prepared to offer access to equipment for security checks on aid vehicles, such as x-ray machines. With this support, we can expedite the processing of vehicles and ensure timely delivery of vital humanitarian aid into Gaza. pic.twitter.com/aS8JdrtNnI
In Gaza, where Israel’s war has killed more than 30,000 people, the enclave’s 2.3 million residents lack access to food, water, adequate shelter and basic supplies, the UN has repeatedly warned.
The UN children’s agency, Unicef, has said an alarming lack of food, surging malnutrition and disease could lead to an “explosion” in child deaths in Gaza.
On February 19 it estimated that one in six children aged under two in Gaza were acutely malnourished.
UNRWA’s commissioner general Philippe Lazzarini has said he fears Gaza is on the “edge of a monumental disaster” that could have severe consequences for peace, security and human rights in the region.
Dr Al Rabeeah called for the opening of humanitarian corridors to allow aid into Gaza under a ceasefire.
“As a humanitarian agency, my hope and plea is to see all corridors open and for the ceasefire to start,” he said.