His Excellency President of the Saudi Red Crescent Authority, Dr. Jalal Al-Owaisi, and the Secretary General of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Mr. Jagan Chapagain,  signed today Tuesday 9 May 2023 a joint executive program for the Emergency Appeal for the earthquake in Syria and Turkey at the headquarter of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Geneva, Switzerland, attended by His Excellency Ambassador Abdulmohsen bin Khothaila, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva.

The program includes meeting the needs of those affected by the earthquake by providing shelter, food, household and medical supplies, and providing post-crisis recovery programs for mental and physical health services and protection for vulnerable groups.

Dr. Al-Owaisi affirmed that this program is a response to the distress calls launched by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to support the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the Turkish Red Crescent. The Saudi Red Crescent Authority has allocated $2 million as a contribution to support this program.

This support comes to complement the Kingdom's efforts to alleviate the suffering of earthquake victims. The Kingdom, since the early days of the earthquake, has been keen to operate air bridges of relief aircrafts and send specialized teams in humanitarian response, medical and search and rescue, who contributed to saving lives of many trapped and injured as a result of the impact of the earthquake.

The implementation of this program confirms Authority's emphasis on the importance of coordinating international efforts to support humanitarian and relief work to help earthquake victims and provide comprehensive support for the afflicted and affected.

Dr. Al-Owaisi explained that the Kingdom, represented by the Saudi Red Crescent Authority, as a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, is keen to respond to distress calls launched by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies periodically. His excellency affirmed that this is not the first time that the Authority has responded to these calls. It has previously responded to the calls launched by the International Federation since the devastating earthquake in Turkey and Syria. The Kingdom, represented by the Saudi Red Crescent Authority, provided more than $750,000.

He also affirmed that the Authority takes humanity first into consideration, in order to mitigate the damage caused by the tragedies and disasters to which human beings are exposed as a result of armed conflicts, natural disasters and crises.

His Excellency hoped that this program would contribute to alleviating the damage caused to civilians in Syria and Turkey as a result of the earthquake.