RIYADH: Saudi Arabia marked the International Day of Charity on Saturday by highlighting a global humanitarian, development and charitable footprint spanning 9,030 projects worth more than $145 billion across 175 countries, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
The Kingdom ranked second globally and first among Arab nations in providing humanitarian and relief assistance in 2025, according to the United Nations Financial Tracking Service, SPA said.
A central role in those efforts has been played by the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, or KSrelief, which was established in May 2015 under royal directives as Saudi Arabia’s dedicated international aid arm.
Since its inception, KSrelief has implemented 4,457 relief projects in 113 countries, with funding exceeding $8 billion, according to SPA.
The center has also overseen specialized humanitarian programs, including the Saudi Program for Conjoined Twins, which has reviewed 158 cases and successfully carried out 72 separation operations involving twins from 28 countries across five continents.
Saudi Arabia’s initiative also led the United Nations to officially designate Nov. 24 as World Conjoined Twins Day in 2024.
Through the Saudi Portal for External Volunteering, 84,388 volunteers have taken part in 1,446 medical and training missions in 59 countries, benefiting more than 2.85 million people and carrying out 273,350 surgical procedures, SPA said.
Meanwhile, the electronic donation platform Sahem has raised more than SR1.701 billion from over 9.82 million donors to support humanitarian operations.
Aid operations continue across crisis-hit regions
The figures highlighted on International Day of Charity come as KSrelief continues relief operations across several countries facing conflict, displacement and food insecurity.
In Yemen, the agency has distributed thousands of food baskets in recent days, including 3,000 baskets in Shabwah Governorate, 1,440 in Al-Jawf and 1,160 in Abyan. It also launched the second phase of a project to distribute 12,000 cartons of dates across several districts of Taiz.
In the Gaza Strip, KSrelief’s central kitchen distributed 24,850 hot meals to vulnerable people in central and southern areas on Wednesday, following the provision of 24,000 meals a day earlier.
The agency also pumped 500,000 liters of safe drinking water across several Gaza governorates as part of its emergency humanitarian response.
Elsewhere, KSrelief distributed 1,050 food baskets to displaced people and returnees in Sudan’s North Kordofan State, benefiting 7,110 people, while 506 food baskets were provided to vulnerable families in Syria’s Rif Dimashq.
SPA said the initiatives reflected Saudi Arabia’s continuing efforts to support vulnerable and crisis-affected populations worldwide through KSrelief, in line with the Kingdom’s broader humanitarian commitments under Vision 2030.
