Egypt, UNHCR to set strategic vision on services provided to refugees

CAIRO – 9 September 2024: Minister of Social Solidarity Maya Morsi and Representative of the UNHCR to Egypt and the Arab League Hanan Hamdan agreed on joining forces to set a strategic vision on reinforcing and sustaining measures/programmes aimed at supporting refugees in Egypt.

The two sides met Sunday to confer over the services offered by the ministry to refugees, as well as cooperation plans with international partners.

In that framework, the talks covered the repercussions of the armed conflict in Sudan, deterioration of the humanitarian conditions in Gaza, and the role of the Egyptian Red Crescent in response to emergencies abroad in collaboration and partnership with other state institutions.

According to a UNHCR and UNICEF joint statement released in August, over 748,000 refugees and asylum-seekers are registered with UNHCR Egypt, a majority of whom are women and children who have recently arrived in Egypt fleeing the brutal conflict that started in Sudan in April 2023. Since the conflict broke, the registered Sudanese refugee population has grown almost sevenfold and numbers are expected to keep rising.  

With needs growing exponentially, resources are running thin for the Government of Egypt, UN agencies and other strategic partners to provide refugee and host community children with safe, protective quality learning spaces. 

The 2024 Sudan Regional Refugee Response plan calls for $109 million to respond to refugee education needs across the region. To date, only 20% of this amount has been mobilized, including $4.3 million – or 40% of the requirement for Egypt. 

While the Government of Egypt has taken notable steps to provide refugees with access to education services, with 9,000 children arriving every month, approximately 54% of newly arrived children are currently out of school, according to a recent assessment by UNICEF and the World Bank.