RIYADH, 9 April 2006 — The Kingdom has agreed to provide aid to the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, which has so far received $260 million from 40 countries and is still short of $200 million in emergency aid for the victims of humanitarian disaster in Africa, the Middle East and Afghanistan.
Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland said a major outcome of his talks with senior government officials was the Kingdom’s commitment to channel the aid through the UN’s multilateral system.
“Currently, 94 percent of Saudi humanitarian aid is disbursed as bilateral aid, while only six percent goes through the multilateral system. Hopefully, this aid distribution pattern will change,” Egeland observed.
The press conference, held at the UNDP office here, was also attended by Mostafa Ben Lamlih, UN resident coordinator and UNDP resident representative, and Ivo Freijsen, head of office for the UN’s Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) for the Middle East, North Africa, Iran and Afghanistan.
Egeland arrived here on a short visit to the Kingdom that will also take him to the United Arab Emirates. In Riyadh, he called on Riyadh Governor Prince Salman and Prince Turki ibn Mohammad bin Saud Al-Kabeer, undersecretary for political affairs and director general of International Organizations Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He also had talks at the Saudi Red Crescent Society, his host, and the World Assembly of Muslim Youth.
While noting that the Kingdom has agreed to use the UN’s multilateral system for the distribution of aid, Egeland acknowledged the difficulties that nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are facing in mobilizing aid for humanitarian purposes, especially after Sept. 11, 2001.
