UNHCR Inks New Partnership with ERC

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) inked a new partnership agreement with the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC) worth EGP38 million, which aims to provide more humanitarian assistance to people crossing the border from Sudan.

In a statement, it said that under this partnership, UNHCR will continue to secure two million bottles of water as well as hygiene and sanitary kit sufficient for 150,000 individuals crossing the border, including Sudanese, Egyptians, and other nationalities.

UNHCR will also cover the transportation expenses from the border to Aswan or other governorates for vulnerable cases.

Furthermore, UNHCR allocated a budget to ERC to provide support to urgent medical cases who suffer from chronic diseases or have recently faced medical issues as a consequence of the long trip between Sudan and Egypt.

UNHCR has collaborated with its partner United Nations agencies to provide rapid and life-saving support on the Egyptian border since the first day of the outbreak of the armed conflict in Sudan in mid-April.

UNHCR’s support has been channeled through the Egyptian Red Crescent, where UNHCR and other agencies, scaled up ERC’s response to reach a larger number of people and cover more needs.

This included the provision of water, food, portable latrines, personal hygiene and health supplies, medical supplies, and medical and psychological support.

According to numbers UNHCR received from the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as of 17 May, more than 113,000 people including 107,286 Sudanese individuals and 5,364 third-country nationals fled Sudan to Egypt through the Argeen and Qusol border crossings.