KSRelief participates in humanitarian aid conference

LONDON: Abdullah Al-Rabiah, adviser to the royal court and general supervisor of the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid (KSRelief), led the center’s delegation at the recently held International Exhibition and Conference for Disaster Response, Emergency, Aid and Development in London.
In his speech, Al-Rabiah highlighted the importance of intervening to mitigate humanitarian challenges many face around the world due to ongoing conflicts and disasters.
“This requires us to work hard to unify efforts and ensure continuous coordination, as well as examine more effective humanitarian initiatives and activities to increase the impact of humanitarian work to become more widespread and sustainable, he said.
Al-Rabiah said a lack of resources, poor coordination between donors and organizations, bureaucracy and increased administrative and logistical pressures were among the challenges faced by humanitarian organizations in the implementation of programs.
The King Salman Center is honored to be among the participants in the conference, alongside the UN, UK’s Department for International Development, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and others, said Al-Rabiah.
He said the center has played an active role in international humanitarian action, having reached 199 projects in 37 countries with 103 partners and $975 million in aid.
The center is also keen on building sustainable partnerships with UN organizations, USAID, the UK, as well as key international, regional and local partners, he added.
Al-Rabiah said the center carries out its aid efforts and projects without any discrimination based on religion, race, color or gender, adding that the conference comes at a time when the world is seeking radical changes in humanitarian action and response strategies.
Al-Rabiah said he hopes the conference will lead to fruitful recommendations that will boost the impact of humanitarian action.
The center also participated in the exhibition accompanying the conference, with a pavilion displaying its relief work in 37 countries, particularly Syria, Iraq, Somalia and Yemen.
The two-day conference was attended by government, UN and international organization representatives in the field of humanitarian assistance and development, including the UK’s Principal Secretary of State for International Development Priti Patel, and UN Undersecretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Stephen O’Brien, among others.