UNHCR Supports ERC’s Response at the Borders with more than 50M EGP

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, signed a partnership agreement with the Egyptian Red Crescent worth 38 million Egyptian pounds, which aims to provide humanitarian assistance to people crossing the border from Sudan.

The agreement is a top-up to the 15-million Egyptian pounds of in-kind support provided by UNHCR since the outbreak of the crisis on the Egyptian border.

Under this partnership, UNHCR will provide the Egyptian Red Crescent with more than two million bottles of water as well as hygiene and sanitary kits for 150,000 people to everyone crossing the border into people, including Sudanese, Egyptians and other nationalities. UNHCR will also cover the transportation expenses from the border to Aswan or other governorates for vulnerable cases. In addition, 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 result of the long journey between Sudan and Egypt.

UNHCR has been present with 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 channelled 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.

Following arrivals, UNHCR registers all those who wish to seek asylum in Egypt to enjoy international protection and to benefit from the range of services provided by the Egyptian government, UNHCR and UNHCR’s implementing partners, which cover education, health and protection services.