Amid Sudanese crisis: UNHCR supports Egyptian Red Crescent with over LE50M

CAIRO – 23 May 2023: UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, signed a partnership agreement with the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC) worth LE38 million, which aims to provide humanitarian assistance to people crossing the border from Sudan.

The agreement is a top-up to the LE15 million worth 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 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. 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 consequence of the long trip 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.