Saudi Arabia, represented by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), announced on Friday that it will host a donor conference to support displaced people and refugees in the Sahel and Lake Chad region on October 26.
The conference will be held in cooperation with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and coordination with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The conference seeks to mobilize resources for humanitarian and development initiatives targeting affected populations, including displaced people and refugees, with a special focus on UN-coordinated humanitarian response plans. It will also raise awareness of the multifaceted crisis and address it by establishing strong partnerships to improve effective humanitarian response and build support for long-term solutions.
According to the UN, nearly 33 million people are in dire need of humanitarian assistance and protection across the Sahel and Lake Chad region, including 11 million who are internally displaced and stay there as refugees in the region.
The countries in the Sahel and Lake Chad regions have been grappling with several crises for more than a decade and facing major challenges that have resulted in social and economic instability and the disruption of livelihoods. Moreover, the drought in Lake Chad, which is the main lifeline for millions of people, has exacerbated the humanitarian situation, requiring urgent intervention.
Advisor at the Royal Court and Supervisor General of King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Rabeeah said the conference is a crucial step towards mobilizing the necessary resources and establishing partnerships to address the urgent humanitarian challenges and needs in these regions.
OIC Secretary-General Hissein Brahim Taha called on the donor member states of the OIC, donor institutions and international partners to seize the opportunity of holding the conference to offer financial resources to improve the conditions of vulnerable communities in these troubled regions.
Acting Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Joyce Msuya said: “The Sahel and Lake Chad Basin are facing an unprecedented crisis. This conference represents a critical opportunity for the international community and affected countries to work together to mobilize more resources and support, not only for the immediate humanitarian response, but to assist the region emerge from the ongoing crisis and achieve its enormous potential.”
She added that conflicts, instability and violence continue to force millions to flee their homes in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin, a region of the world which increasingly confront the destabilizing effects of climate change and food insecurity.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said: “We must strive to help forcibly displaced populations and the communities hosting them.”
He expressed his gratitude to Saudi Arabia and the OIC for their efforts to address the severe shortage of funding in the region.
