
Members of the Egyptian Red Crescent distribute supplies provided by UNHCR at the Qustul Egyptian-Sudanese border crossing. Photo: UNHCR
According to a statement by the CERF, the funding will be used to provide assistance to refugees, returnees, asylum seekers, third-country nationals, and their host communities.
Egypt has received the largest number of people fleeing the war in Sudan.
According to figures the UN Refugees Agency (UNHCR) received from the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as of May 17, more than 113,000 people including 107,286 Sudanese individuals and 5,364 third-country nationals, fled Sudan to Egypt through the Argeen and Qustul border crossings.
The numbers are rapidly increasing with up to 5,000 arrivals a day at Qustul and Argeen borders between Egypt and Sudan.
The UNHCR expects a total of 350,000 people could arrive in Egypt within the next six months.
The allocation of funds to relief efforts in Egypt is part of bigger support provided to neighbouring countries of Sudan, Chad, Central African Republic, and South Sudan with a total amount of $22 million, said Martin Griffiths, the undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.
The announcement of the CERF comes on the same day the UNHCR said it signed a partnership agreement with the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC) to provide EGP 38 million in essential humanitarian assistance to individuals crossing the border from Sudan.
The UNHCR said on Monday the agreement complements the ongoing support provided to individuals at the Egyptian-Sudanese border.
The agreement adds to the previous EGP 15 million of in-kind support provided by the agency since the onset of the crisis in mid-April.
Thus, the UNHCR provided over EGP 53 million in total in support of the ERC's efforts to help those affected by the crisis in Sudan.
As per the agreement, the UNHCR will supply the ERC with over two million bottles of water, along with hygiene and sanitary kits intended for 150,000 people.
These provisions will be made available to all individuals crossing the Egyptian-Sudanese border, encompassing Sudanese, Egyptians, and other nationalities.
Moreover, the UNHCR will cover the transportation expenses for vulnerable cases from the border to Aswan or other governorates.
The UN refugee agency has allocated a budget to the ERC to extend support to urgent medical cases, particularly those enduring chronic illnesses or who have recently encountered medical issues as a result of the lengthy journey between Sudan and Egypt.
Earlier on Sunday, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) joined up with an emergency cash assistance programme to provide support for people fleeing the conflict in Sudan and arriving into Egypt.
The WFP is already supporting over 100,000 refugees in Egypt through its existing cash delivery platform. The agency will now provide additional support to the most vulnerable families who have arrived in Egypt with nothing or have run out of money after a long and perilous journey
Short link: