Disasters, Conflicts and Migration

 

For a more detailed database on disasters by country, please see the Centre for Research on Epidemiology of Disasters Country Profile.

Seasonal Effects on Logistics Capacities

 

Saudi Arabia has a desert climate characterized by extremely high temperatures during the day, a sudden drop in temperature at night, very low annual rainfall, and average humidity. The country has mainly two seasons: summer and winter. The average summer temperature is around 45 ◦C (from May to September) for most regions, but it can be as high as 54 ◦C. In the month of February, March, April, and November, it is neither too cold nor too hot. During peak winter (December to January), the temperature usually drops at night quite rapidly. The annual rainfall is extremely low, especially in the central region. Although sand/dust storms occur throughout the entire year the eastern part experiences the highest number of dust storms per year (i.e., 10 to 60 events), and the west part has fewer dust storm events (i.e., 5 to 15 events per year).

 

Capacity and Contacts for In-Country Emergency Response

Government

In 1965, the General Directorate of Civil Defense (GDCD) was formed with the role of protecting the civilians as well as public and private properties from the dangers of fires, natural disasters, wars and other accidents. It also encompasses rescuing those afflicted by such catastrophes, ensuring transportation safety, and protecting national resources in times of peace and emergency. The role of the GDCD in emergencies and wars can be summarized as following:

• Organizing and operating the national alarm system in cases of emergencies or attacks by a foreign army.
• Managing electrical power and organizing evacuation and shelter plans.
• Extinguishing fires and rescuing civilians and providing basic life-support measures in damaged areas.
• Marking areas afflicted by nuclear damage and directing civilians away from them.
• Corresponding with other governmental bodies (e.g. Ministry of Transportation) to ensure safe transportation of civilians
• Removing debris from damaged areas and rehabilitating them for safe use as soon as possible.

The current structure of the GDCD is divided into three levels:

1. Board of GDCD: This is made up of the Minister of Interior as Chairman, Assistant Minister of Interior as Deputy-Chairman and a number of members who represent divisions of the GDCD or sectors that work closely with the GDCD, such as fire services, police and emergency medical services. Those members are appointed by a Royal Decree often after the recommendation of the Chairman or his deputy. The Board of GDCD is responsible for:
   1. Establishing general GDCD policies and planning future projects.
   2. Establishing safety and fitness standards that must be met in all projects to ensure civilian safety and protect public and private properties.
   3. Establishing guidelines for training programs for GDCD personnel.
   4. Establishing policies for the recruitment of GDCD volunteers and defining their roles and rights.
   5. Forming divisions of the GDCD, defining their responsibilities and appointing a manager to each division.
   6. Reviewing the suggested budget annually before seeking approval from the Ministry of Finance.
2. Executive Committee: This committee consists of members appointed by the Board according to GDCD policies. A president of the committee ensures that projects are executed in a timely and efficient manner, and that the workload is divided equally between all members. The Executive Committee is responsible for:
   1. Enacting policies established by the GDCD Board, following up on current projects.
   2. Suggesting new or alternative projects and liaising with Ministries and other governmental bodies for cooperation.
   3. Enacting safety measures in response to emergencies (once declared by the Board).
   4. Providing food, clothes, shelter and first aid for those in need in times of emergencies.
   5. Representing Saudi Arabia in national and international conferences and courses.
   6. Providing the Board with a suggested budget on an annual basis.
3. GDCD volunteers: These are citizens and residents who are willing to help with the GDCD tasks during times of increased demand, such as natural disasters. They can apply online through the GDCD’s website and receive some training upon acceptance.

General Directorate of Civil Defense (GDCD) contact info:

Address: Eastern Ring Road – Between Exit 10 & 11 Riyadh

Office hours: Sunday to Thursday 8 a.m.  to 2:30 p.m.

Website: https://www.998.gov.sa/English/Pages/Default.aspx

Email: 998@998.gov.sa

Tel:  011-4925033

Fax:  011-4925041

PO Box 11174

Zip code 12451 – 3792

For more information on government contact details, please see the following link: 4.1 Government Contact List.

Humanitarian Community

Saudi Arabia joined the United Nations as a Charter Member on 26 June 1945. There are currently 22 UN Agencies, Funds and Programmes working with Saudi Arabia, including regional offices. The UN agencies plan and work together, as part of the UN Development System lead by the Resident Coordinator, to ensure the delivery of tangible results in support of Vision 2030 and the National Transformation Programme, and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted in 2015. The country team (known by its acronym UNCT) is made up of representatives of these organisations. As head of the country team, the UN Resident Coordinator (RC) guides and supports the work of the UNCT, ensuring effective coordination and cooperation across the mandates of each organisation.

UN Entities in Saudi Arabia: https://saudiarabia.un.org/en/contact-us

King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center

Source: ksrelief website

The King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Action specializes in relief and humanitarian work and seeks to be a leading international center for the relief of communities suffering from disasters in order to help them and raise their suffering to lead a decent life. It has a capital of one billion riyals.

Since its inception, the center has contributed to the completion of 1,050 projects in various sectors including food security, health, education, water, environmental sanitation, logistics and other services at a total cost of SR 3,542,362,920 billion.

Most Prominent KS Relief Programs:

1. Child Soldiers Rehabilitation Program: This project was launched in September 2017, focuses on the rehabilitation of child soldiers and those affected by the armed conflict in Yemen.
2. Saudi Project for Landmine Clearance: It is a Saudi humanitarian project to clear and clear Yemeni land mines.
3. Artificial Limbs Program: KS Relief has supported and funded prosthetic centers that provide free services to amputees in Yemen.

King Abdullah Road, Riyadh 12371 7046

Phone: +966 920 008 554​

Fax: +966 112 074 203​

Email: info@ksrelief.org

Website:  https://www.ksrelief.org/home/index

Saudi Fund for Development (SFD)

The Saudi Fund for Development was founded by virtue of Royal Decree No. M/48, issued on 01/09/1997. The Fund commenced its activities with a capital of ten million Saudi Riyals provided by the Saudi government. This capital had since been increased in three phases to reach thirty one thousand million Saudi Riyals. The Fund is considered the main channel through which the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia dispenses humanitarian aid. Loans provided by this Fund are characterized as soft loans, often unconditional; these loans typically focus on infrastructure sectors which are essential to improving living standards in developing countries, such as health, education, safe drinking water, housing, roadworks, and agriculture. 

Since its inception, the fund has financed 582 projects and 27 development programs in 82 developing countries, between Africa, Asia and other regions with a total amount of more than 51 billion riyals, of which 27 billion were allocated to finance 359 projects and development programs in 45 countries. Africa and more than 23 billion riyals to finance 232 projects and development programs in 29 countries in Asia, and 18 projects in other regions of the world at the expenditure of over one billion riyals.

The Fund’s role is not limited to providing loans to help developing countries improve the standard of living of their people, but also includes contributing to the implementation of grants from the Government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to support countries in need to cope with difficult living conditions. This program, implemented in five phases with more than $330 million, has helped to dig more than 6,300 wells in 12 African countries to provide drinking water to more than 3 million Africans suffering from drought and water scarcity.

SFD continues to translate the directives of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques in order to help countries in need to improve their living conditions and fight poverty in concert with international efforts to help developing countries directly or through international or regional development institutions to achieve sustainable development goals.

The Saudi Fund for Development

King Fhad Road , P.O 50483 , Saudi Arabia, Riyadh 11523

T: +966 11 279 4000 . F: +966 11 464 7450

E: info@sfd.gov.sa

Website: https://www.sfd.gov.sa/en/what-is-sfd

KSA Civil Society

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia realizes that building an ambitious and integrated society is done through effective partnerships with the civil society in the private sector and non-profit organizations. Thus achieving an increase in the domestic product and economic growth that is reflected in the quality of life, and maximizing the social impact in building a stable, balanced and united nation. The non-profit sector in the Kingdom keeps pace with Vision 2030, which seeks to increase the sector’s contribution to the GDP to 5%, and to raise the number of volunteers to one million male and female volunteers by 2030.

The sector contributes effectively to the development of various areas that serve the community and consolidates the culture of social responsibility, in addition to the fact that this sector is a key focus for achieving sustainable development in light of the continuous support witnessed by the Kingdom that enhances the values of humanitarian work for members of society through integration with various government agencies and maximizing their benefit.

There are 3,156 non-profit organizations in the Kingdom spread throughout the governorates and regions, seeking to implement social solidarity by providing various assistance to the poor and the needy, and consolidating the principle of coexistence, tolerance, cooperation, solidarity and cohesion, especially in light of the global crises and pandemics that the world is witnessing.

National Centre for Non-Profit Sector

The National Centre for Non-Profit Sector was established by Cabinet Resolution No. (459) dated 11/8/1440 AH. The Centre aims to organize, activate and expand the role of non-profit sector organizations in the development fields, and work to integrate government efforts in providing licensing services to these organizations, financial, administrative and technical supervision of the sector, and increasing coordination and support.

The Kingdom has a role and major contributions to charitable work through a group of state institutions, including the Social Development Sector in the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development and others. The responsibility of these institutions is about supervising civil bodies, such as charitable societies, institutions, cooperative societies, committees and centers for social and civil development, and the consolidation of these concepts among segments of society, in addition to supporting the establishment of funds that contribute to meeting societal and development needs.

The National Initiatives to Support the non-Profit Organizations

Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture’s Initiatives

Udhwi (Organic)

An initiative aims at developing organic farming techniques to serve the environment and society.  Cooperation is presented by providing electronic services for organic farms and farms under transition to organic farms in these areas:

Providing the Saudi national logo for organic products.

Providing the Saudi national logo for organic production inputs.

Providing direct support to the cultivated areas of organic and under transition farms.

Providing support for documentation and inspection costs for organic and rms under transition to organic farms.

Tashjeer (Planting)

Regulations that allow requesting to support environmental efforts in vegetation cover and participating in afforestation campaigns. It also provides the possibility of providing financial support to the Vegetation Fund.

Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development’s Initiatives

National Volunteer Portal:

A Saudi incubator for volunteer work that provides a safe environment that serves and regulates the relationship between providers of volunteer opportunities and volunteers in the Kingdom.

The Societies' Financial Sustainability Fund:

A non-profit fund was established in 2011 with a capital of 100 million riyals at the initiative and funding of the Sulaiman bin Abdulaziz Al-Rajhi Charitable Foundation and in strategic partnership with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development. It aims to finance investment projects for charitable organizations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a good loan with the aim of contributing to achieving the financial sustainability of these bodies.

Marketing Association:

A civil association licensed by the Ministry of Human Resources, and it is a marketing platform for all practitioners and those who are interested. The association provides those who are interested in services to spread awareness of the science of marketing and its multiple applications, and support the career future of marketing professionals.

Electronic Commerce and Retail Association:

A civil association licensed by the Ministry of Human Resources aims to develop scientific thought and educate the community about the concept of e-commerce. It provides awareness, education, studies, research services, programs and events, in addition to preparing platforms for practicing e-commerce.

Fikra (Idea) Association for Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship:

An under-establishment civil association seeks to solve social problems and issues with innovative solutions in the form of a financially sustainable service or product, taking advantage of local resources in the community to maximize the positive impact by using concepts and ideas in commercial companies and the private sector to solve environmental, social and economic problems.

Business Women Association:

An under-establishment civil association aims to empower women’s enterprises, develop and raise the efficiency of the performance of women’s business enterprises to ensure the continuity of the success of the operational processes and raise awareness and contributions of women to professional free work according to an integrated institutional methodology to practice their own business.

Franchise Association:

A civil association that educates the community on the role and importance of franchising, prepares qualified national youth working in franchising projects, and encourages local scientific research in the field of franchising.

Attaa Organization (services to needy families):

In partnership with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, the Organization manages and directs the charitable sector for the services of needy families to benefit from its services, and aims at :

• Achieving privacy in serving families.
• Immediately Registering families and providing the necessary services for them.
• Following up on families' affairs and the developments and living conditions.
• Establishing a unified database for charities.
• Integrating the charitable work between associations.
• Technically linking charitable societies and relevant government departments.

Al-Mawaddah Association for Family Development:

It is a non-profit association licensed by the Ministry of Human Resources that enable the family to build sustainable and stable relationships through (providing programs, initiatives, and educational campaigns aimed at serving and stabilizing the community, building family capabilities, increasing family awareness, and creating an opportunity to empower the family) through a set of initiatives including:

• an academy to enhance the family's skills in quality of life.
• Itmae'n (be assured) Initiative for family counseling.
• Protection of women and children.
• Shaml (Joining) Initiative to implement the courts' decisions of visiting for separated families.
• Al Hayat (Life) Academy for Women Empowerment.

Handasyah (Engineering) Charitable Society for Engineering Services:

It is a non-profit association specializing in the engineering field, licensed by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It aims to provide engineering services to the third sector and work to develop it in a way that serves its interests and maximizes the charitable return of donors. The association seeks to achieve its goals that include:

• Supervising and coordinating of urban, architectural, engineering, information and other studies.
• Supervising the preparation of feasibility studies for charitable projects.
• Coordinating supervision of implementation and processing works.
• Coordinating supervision of planning and managing the implementation of maintenance and restoration work.
• Supporting and encouraging studies and research that contribute to the development of the mechanisms and means concerned with the implementation of charitable projects in line with social, economic and environmental requirements.
• Providing information and educational ideas to individuals and charities that help them achieve their goals.

Abdullah Ibrahim Al-Subaie Charitable Foundation:

It is a donor institution that integrates with others to enable charitable work and create a developmental impact that contributes to achieving Vision 2030 through specific services and programs, types, and multiple grant areas to achieve multiple development goals.

Sulaiman bin Abdulaziz Al-Rajhi Charitable Foundation:

In cooperation with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, the Sulaiman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Rajhi Charitable Foundation provides many services, including but not limited to:

• Financial support, including financial and in-kind grants for the beneficiary societies.
• Knowledge support, including advisory services and management of charitable projects for donor agencies and institutions.
• Building partnerships and alliances to solve societal issues and meet the needs of the Saudi regions.
• Contributing to empowering the non-profit sector and building its capabilities through initiatives directed to the development and development of civil societies and institutions.
• Contributing to the preparation of studies and research in the charitable field and the third sector for development and improvement.

Princess Seetah bint Abdulaziz Award for Excellence in Social Work:

This award comes to encourage social charitable work that aims to provide aid and assistance to the needy, and the desire to find a prize for excellence in social work, bearing the name of Princess Seetah bint Abdulaziz, may God have mercy on her. The articles of association of the Foundation included that it has an independent legal personality that is not for financial profit. The Prizes' objectives are:

• Establishing a culture of social, charitable, humanitarian and voluntary work, and reinforcing its noble values.
• Rooting and developing social institutional work in all its forms.
• Appreciating and encouraging distinguished people of both sexes in social work.
• Motivating governmental and private bodies to excel and innovate in social work.
• Supporting the Islamic endowment and encouraging it to be the first promoter of social work.
• Highlight pioneering and distinguished initiatives.
• Highlighting the bright aspects and the bright efforts for social work.
• Governance of the social work system in all its fields.
• Building a national heritage in social work.
• Encouraging distinguished national achievements and social programs.
• Promoting the concept of corporate social responsibility and support it to be an important promoter of community development.

General Authority for Awqaf’s Initiatives

Endowment Investment funds:

The General Authority for Awqaf (Endowments ) launched its first development initiatives, represented in the endowment investment funds project in cooperation with the Capital Market Authority. The funds aim to contribute to meeting societal and development needs, and to raise the non-profit sector's contribution to the GDP. They also adhere to the requirements contained in the investment funds regulations issued by the Commission Financial market.

The Ministry of Justice's Initiatives

Shaml Initiative:

The Ministry of Justice has provided specialized centers to facilitate the beneficiaries' implementation of custody and visiting decisions in the Kingdom, within a family-friendly environment and without the need for implementation in courts or police stations. It aims to:

• Facilitating the implementation of custody and visiting decisions for citizens in an environment suitable for family members (eligible centers).
• Creating job opportunities in the field of community service.
• Improving the level of cooperation between the Ministry of Justice, government agencies and the third sector in providing integrated services to serve the community.

The Ministry of Health's Initiatives

Haroun Professional Volunteer Initiative:

The community partnership agreement between the Ministry of Health and Bank Al-Jazira to train staff of health institutions and NGOs supports Haroun Professional Volunteer Initiative by investing the energies and professional competencies of people with specializations and skills working in the private sector and retirees, supporting 22 private health NGOs, besides an Academy for Professional Development and Policies and Research.

• The Community Empowerment Initiative, whose role is to empower community members in the health reinforcement process. It does that by giving them a leadership role to formulate the health problems they face within their neighborhood, define priorities, make decisions, and work to implement them alongside the neighborhood’s concerned health center. This aims to deepen the pioneering role of primary health care. This type of health care aims to enhance the concept of self-care among community members. It is line with the national transformation initiatives and the Saudi Vision 2030.
• Wateen Initiative, which seeks to reduce the communication gap between donors and blood banks; making the blood donation process much easier.
• Shefa Electronic Platform, which aims to facilitate providing treatment to the needy, stranded people, and emergency cases.
• A Partnership agreement with Tawahud Steps National Organization in Makkah to rehabilitate Saudi autistic individuals, free of charge.
• A Partnership agreement with Rohama'a Health Association to perform 1,000 eye operations on individuals on MOH’s list of hospitals, in specialized medical centers in the private sector.
• Partnership agreement with Al-Eradah Organization for Talented People with disability. It aims to provide health services and medical coordination to beneficiaries, based on the concept of social responsibility.

 The Ministry of Education's Initiatives

Partnerships with Saudi Associations for Rehabilitation and Development:

The Ministry of Education, represented by the General Administration of Special Education in the agency for Educational Programs, concluded communications related to a mutual understanding with Saudi charitable societies to rehabilitate and educate students with special needs and special education. The department concluded a cooperative agreement with the Saudi Society for Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder in the field of educational services and rehabilitation for people with ADHD, serving people with ADHD in a number of areas represented in the exchange of technical and advisory expertise, awareness fields, measurement and diagnosis, development of evidence for people with ADHD, specialized workshops and training programs, and cooperation in the field of research of common interest, in addition to improving the school and classroom environment in ADHD programs, and providing strategies and skill training to families in the comprehensive channel of special education in a number of areas of education through recreational, social, media design, language and mathematics skills, in addition to early intervention, and modification and behavioural, functional and physical rehabilitation. Based on that agreement, awareness films, specialized guides, and training courses were issued to rehabilitate and educate students with special needs and special education.

UNESCO Learning Cities:

The Ministry of Education, represented by the agency for Educational Programs, signed an agreement with the UNESCO Regional Center for Quality and Excellence in Education, an agreement to launch and accredit learning cities in the Kingdom, with the possibility of studying the nomination of learning cities, with the aim of launching the Learning Cities project in all regions of the Kingdom, and one of the first results of that agreement was the adoption of Jubail Industrial City and Yanbu Industrial City as learning cities within the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities.

UNESCO's classification of Jubail Industrial City and Yanbu Industrial City as Saudi learning cities within its global network is one of the Ministry of Education's goals in integrating with all other sectors to build an integrated educational journey that promotes a culture of continuing education and lifelong learning. This classification also achieves comprehensive development goals and highlights the role of the Kingdom in preparing a globally competitive citizen.

The mechanism for accrediting learning cities in the Kingdom is in line with Vision 2030 in terms of ensuring the development of human capabilities and improving learning outcomes, which contributes to empowering the sons and daughters of the country, achieving harmonization between education outcomes, labor market requirements and future jobs, and creating a vibrant community capable of improving learning outcomes, in addition to qualifying and training members of the local community, as well as creating innovative practices for continuing education, and providing attractive educational environments.

The Ministry of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing's Initiatives

Owners' Union:

The Owners Union Program of the Ministry of Housing seeks to regulate the relationship between the owners and occupants of jointly owned housing units by establishing systems, regulations and control mechanisms, organizing property and facilities management services, and playing an educational and awareness role in a manner that guarantees the preservation of rights and good use and promotes a culture of coexistence.

Joud (generosity) of Housing:

One of the initiatives of the National Developmental Housing Corporation affiliated with the Ministry of Housing. It aims to involve the community (individuals / organizations) to provide a helping hand to charitable housing tender through an electronic platform that achieves transparency, accuracy and professionalism in providing charitable contribution, through several initiatives such as:

• Supporting housing: it is provided to the families most in need of families covered by social care in the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development. You can make a donation through the link.
• Rent subsidy: it is provided to families most in need of families covered by social care in the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, and they have failed on paying the rent. You can make a donation through the link.
• Public participation: In public participation, you can provide a cash amount without specifying a beneficiary, as well as an in-kind contribution such as housing units or a land to be built on. You can make a donation through in-kind donations or general financial contributions.
• Housing projects

https://www.my.gov.sa/wps/portal/snp/eParticipation/civilSocietyPartnership

For more information on humanitarian agency contact details, please see the following link: 4.2 Humanitarian Agency Contact List.