Arab News, Wednesday, Oct 19, 2022 | Rabi Al-Awwal 23, 1444
KSRelief signs $10m deals with WHO, UNICEF to prevent spread of measles, polio
Saudi Arabia:
The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center has signed agreements with
the World Health Organization and UNICEF to combat the spread of measles and
polio in several countries, the Saudi Press Agency has reported.
KSRelief Supervisor-General Dr. Abdullah
Al-Rabeeah, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and UNICEF Executive
Director Catherine Russell were signatories to the $10 million agreements which
were signed on the sidelines of the World Health Summit in Berlin.
The first deal, signed with WHO, aims to prevent
the spread of measles and polio in Somalia, Sudan and Iraq, while the second
agreement, with UNICEF, looks to combat the diseases in Congo, Central Africa,
Guinea, Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The agreements also seek to support cooling chains
to store vaccinations through the use of electric generators or solar panels,
cover operational costs for campaigns, and aid the program by hiring experts
from WHO and UNICEF.
Al-Rabeeah said Saudi Arabia has a pivotal role to
play in relief and humanitarian fields, and that the Kingdom has always lent its
support to countries seeking help out of its belief in the importance of such
supportive work.
He noted that the two agreements formed part of
international efforts to prevent and limit the outbreak of disease for millions
of children, and commended the strategic partnership between Saudi Arabia, WHO
and UNICEF.