Saudi Arabia Leads Global Humanitarian Aid On Fraternity Day With KSrelief Projects

Marking the International Day of Human Fraternity on 4 February, Saudi Arabia’s humanitarian efforts draw global attention for scale and reach. The Kingdom has supported people in crisis worldwide, focusing on dignity and equal treatment, and positioning its aid policies as a major pillar of international solidarity across regions and income levels.

Over several decades, Saudi Arabia has implemented 8,749 humanitarian, development, and charitable projects in 175 countries. The total value of this support exceeds $145 billion. These programmes cover many sectors and are delivered without discrimination, reflecting a long-standing national approach that links aid with the protection of human dignity and social stability.

At the centre of these activities is the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center, known as KSrelief, created in 2015 as Saudi Arabia’s main aid institution. Since then, KSrelief has carried out 4,183 projects in 113 countries, including Palestine, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, and Somalia, with funding surpassing $8.325 billion.

The Kingdom’s role in relief work receives regular international recognition. In 2025, Saudi Arabia ranked second worldwide and first among Arab states for humanitarian and relief donations, based on data from the United Nations Financial Tracking Service. This ranking highlights the scale of Saudi contributions compared with other major donor countries.

KSrelief has also been honoured by several organisations for its performance. The Arab League granted the centre its family- and child-friendly institutions award for 2024, recognising assistance provided to Palestinian children and families under occupation. KSrelief further received the Global Humanitarian Achievement Award from the National Council on U.S.–Arab Relations for its international relief impact.

On the technical side, KSrelief obtained ISO 8000-1:2022 certification for data quality on the Saudi Aid Platform. The International Organization for Standardization confirmed that this made KSrelief one of the first Saudi entities to secure this accreditation. The certification supports reliable reporting on aid flows and improves transparency for partners and recipient countries.

Among the Kingdom’s most specialised initiatives is the Saudi Conjoined Twins Programme, implemented through KSrelief. Since 1990, medical teams within the programme have conducted 67 separation surgeries. They have also assessed 155 conjoined twins’ cases from 28 countries on five continents, providing advanced care for families facing complex medical and ethical decisions.

Saudi Arabia’s work on conjoined twins has also appeared in international observances. At the Kingdom’s initiative, the United Nations designated 24 November as the World Conjoined Twins Day. This designation highlights the medical and humanitarian challenges around such cases, while drawing attention to the support available for affected children and families.

The International Day of Human Fraternity underlines that the world shares one human family, diverse in culture yet equal in rights and dignity. Saudi Arabia’s broad assistance portfolio, from KSrelief operations to the Saudi Conjoined Twins Programme, reflects this principle by providing structured support to vulnerable communities across many regions and contexts.

With inputs from SPA