The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, known for the generosity of its people and government, is a devoted supporter of humanitarian aid. This section presents the efforts of the Kingdom and its dedication to providing relief and humanitarian assistance where need be. Here, you will gain insight into Saudi aid given to refugees, displaced people and visitors, you will also become familiarized with the Kingdom’s charitable and humanitarian initiatives, King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, the Saudi Aid Platform, the employment enabling services including Ajeer service, and the Kingdom’s humanitarian efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been an avid lender of generosity and humanitarian aid, and a stalwart supporter of sister countries in hardship. This initiative is born out of the Kingdom’s role as a key player on the global stage and the heart of the Islamic World. The Kingdom’s contributions span many developing countries, to whom humanitarian aid is provided through various governmental entities.
Saudi Aids to refugees, displaced people, and visitors
Who are the refugees?
Refugees are people who have left their country due to war, violence, conflict, or persecution, and have crossed international borders to seek safety in another country. These people are unable or unwilling to return to their country, for fear of being persecuted for reasons related to race, religion, nationality, belonging to certain groups, or because of political opinion, as defined by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Visitors (refugees in Saudi Arabia)
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the countries that most receive visitors (refugees in the Kingdom). The Kingdome provides them with the free treatment and education, and helps them to integrate into the society as they live in all regions of the Kingdom, additionally, it provides them with the opportunities to work and receive education in public schools.
Refugees and displaced people outside Saudi Arabia
They are the refugees around the world who have suffered from forcible displacement because of political, religious, or ethnic reasons. And the humanity identity of Saudi Arabia seeks to alleviate their suffering by providing the basics of a decent life, including housing, education, nutrition, and treatment.
The Kingdom's charitable and humanitarian initiatives
1. The Muslim World League
The Muslim World League is an international non-governmental Islamic organization based in the Holy City of Makkah. It aims to present the true Islam and extends bridges of dialogue and cooperation with all. The Muslim World League Members:
- The United Nations Organization: Observer in consultative status with the ECOSOC.
- Organization of the Islamic Cooperation: Observe status in attendance at all meetings and conferences.
- UNESCO: Member.
- UNICEF: Member.
2. Saudi Fund for Development
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia established the Saudi Fund for Development to become the main channel through which the Saudi government provides its development assistance. The main goal of this fund is to contribute to financing development projects in developing countries by granting loans, as well as providing grants for technical aid to finance studies and institutional support, and to provide financing and guaranteeing non-oil national exports.
3. King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center
Proceeding from its humanitarian and pioneering role towards the international community around the world, and sensing the importance of this influential role in alleviating human suffering to lead a dignified life, Saudi Arabia has initiated the establishment of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, to be an international center dedicated to relief and humanitarian work. May of the year 2015, with a capital of one billion riyals, under the guidance and generous care of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, may God support him.
The center relies in its work on the principles that stem from lofty humanitarian goals, based on providing aid to the needy, and relief for the afflicted anywhere in the world with an accurate monitoring mechanism and advanced and fast transportation methods, which are carried out through the assistance of the United Nations and international and local non-profit organizations with high reliability in the countries the beneficiary.
It was taken into account that the projects and programs of the center are diverse according to the beneficiaries and their circumstances, and the aid includes all sectors of relief and humanitarian work (relief security, camp management, shelter, early recovery, protection, education, water and environmental sanitation, nutrition, health, support for humanitarian operations, logistics, communications in emergency).
The center seeks to be a global model in this field, based on several pillars, including:
- Continuing the Kingdom's approach to extending a helping hand to the needy in the world.
- Providing aid without any inhumane motives.
- Coordination and consultation with trusted global organizations and bodies.
- Applying all international standards used in relief programs.
- Unifying efforts among the concerned authorities in relief work in the Kingdom.
- Professionalism and efficiency of the center's staff and volunteers.
- Ensuring that the aid reaches its beneficiaries and is not used for other purposes.
- To be available in aid, high quality and reliable source.
King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center
1. Saudi Aid Platform
Since its establishment, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has shared its blessings amongst its citizens as well as others throughout the world through its humanitarian, developmental and charitable contributions. Grants and concessional loans have been awarded to countries without discrimination regardless of race, color, or religion. The Kingdom has always been one of the top ten countries in the world in providing aid. Humanitarian Aid in the Kingdom provided by:
- Saudi Fund for Development
- Ministry of Finance
- King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center
- The Saudi Development and Reconstruction Program for Yemen
- King Abdullah International Foundation for Charity
- The Saudi Red Crescent
- Ministry of Energy
- Ministry of Environment Water & Agriculture - General Organization for Irrigation
- Ministry of Health
- Ministry of National Guard - Health Affairs
- RC&KFSH
- Ministry of Media
- Others
You can view the interactive map of the countries benefiting from the humanitarian services provided. To find out all the details related to financial aid and humanitarian aid, you can visit the Saudi Aid platform.
2. Saudi Aid for Refugees and IDPs
Saudi Aid for Refugees and IDPs website also highlights the Kingdom's international efforts and commitment to transparency and to preserve its rights to giving. It also shed light on the type and volume of aid provided by the Kingdom to refugees and displaced persons inside and outside Saudi Arabia.
3. The Saudi portal for external volunteering
King Salman Center has carried out a number of volunteer programs around the world that have achieved great numbers in:
- Number of programs
- Registered volunteers
- Beneficiary countries
- Beneficiaries
- Costs
You can view the programs currently available through the Saudi External Volunteer Portal.
4. Online donation portal
You can donate to the center’s general donation account, from which all the center’s programs founded without being bound by a specific country or program. Or you can specify the country in which you wish to donate and determine the amount, whether it is monthly or one-time.
5. International Journal of Human Studies
It International Journal of Human Studies is concerned with enriching the scientific content in the field of humanitarian and relief work. It is a refereed journal, semi-annual, issued by the King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Action in cooperation with the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies. It is concerned with academic research, field studies, and specialized best practices in the field of relief and humanitarian work. It targets academics and researchers in this field, as well as practitioners and staff working in the field of relief, humanitarian work, and human rights.
6. Quality humanitarian programs
The King Salman Center adopts a number of specific humanitarian projects for visitors in Saudi Arabia:
A project to rehabilitate children who have been recruited and affected by the armed conflict in Yemen (Malath)
Which aims to rehabilitate children recruited and affected by the armed conflict in Yemen by integrating them into society, enrolling them in schools and take care of them, in addition to providing them with psychological and social rehabilitation and preparing courses for them and their families to practice their normal lives as children.
Project Masam Clearing Landmines from Yemen
MASAM is the Saudi Project for Landmine Clearance in Yemen. The goal of the project is to clear Yemen of all land mines and other explosive devices, and is part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to countries around the world.
Aid provided to visitors in the Kingdom
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is considered one of the leading countries in hosting refugees (visitors); the Kingdom provides refugees with free health care and education, and is also keen to integrate the visitors into Saudi society by providing breadwinners with job opportunities and enrolling their children in public schools.
Artificial Limbs Program
King Salman Relief Center funds The Artificial Limbs Centers that provides free services to those who have received an amputation among Yemen’s civilian population due to land mine incidents which have been planted illegally throughout the country by Houthi militia groups. Once the prosthetic devices have been completed and fitted, specialized rehabilitation teams help patients adjust to the use of their new limbs in order to return home with new confidence and improved mobility.
Employment Enabling Services
Employee (Ajeer) service
It is a document that permits a worker to work in a specific facility for a specific, temporary period of time. It is a legal document according to the laws and regulations of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development. Types of employee documents:
- Temporary work for Syrian visitors document.
- Temporary work for Yemeni visitors document (domestic jobs).
- Temporary work for Yemeni visitors document (professional jobs).
- Work eligibility for Yemeni visitors to work document (domestic jobs).
- Work eligibility for Yemeni visitors document (professional jobs).
- Saudi assignment permit.
Education Enabling Services
General Education in Private and Foreign Schools
The Ministry of Education issued a unified form to admit male and female students to study in government public education with a visitor visa for Syrians and Yemenis.
Qiyas Tests
The Kingdom also enables visiting male and female students to complete a transfer test to complete undergraduate requirements by filling out the application form attached to the National Center for Qiyas. To fill out the form and take a Qiyas test via the link.
Government Scholarship for Non Saudis
A service developed by the Ministry of Education for non-Saudi students residing in the Kingdom, allows them to apply for government scholarships, offered by Saudi Arabia due to the importance of education and the expansion of intellectual knowledge. In order to apply for a scholership click here.
The Kingdom's Humanitarian Efforts During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has played an effective role in facing the COVID-19 pandemic locally and globally, as it has provided many medical and educational support, food and non-food items.
Tackling COVID-19
With the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic in 2019, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s response to the quick-spreading virus was swift and effective, ensuring the containment of the virus thus minimizing a far greater crisis. Learning from previous experiences, such as the MERS outbreak, the Kingdom felt an immense responsibility to keep the virus under wraps. The Kingdom developed the COVID-19 Follow-up Committee, which was dedicated to monitoring and coordinating the national response to the spread of the virus in Saudi Arabia. COVID-19 had been spreading throughout the world two months before reaching the Kingdom, giving the Kingdom a head-start to put an effective plan to tackle the disease into place. The Kingdom was one of the first countries to set-up a secure testing laboratory and began implementing travel restrictions and constraints on shipping services, which eventually led to imposed bans on domestic and international travel via air, land and sea, leading to a Kingdom-wide lockdown to ensure that the unraveling of cases was kept at bay. The Kingdom went on to further implement temperature checks and created the Tawakalna app, which was to be presented among entrance into any public entity, stating your current infection status of COVID-19, as either positive, negative, or immune. The Kingdom also ensured that the authorized and approved vaccines by Moderna, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, and Johnson & Johnson are provided to citizens, residents, refugees, visitors, and residency violators, in addition to other services such as examinations and overall treatments, free of charge.
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