The Swiss Development and Cooperation Agency has granted the World Food Program (WFP) a total of US$1.4 million to support refugees from the Sudanese crisis in Egypt.
Up to 6,000 Sudanese refugees living in Egypt will benefit from the aid for up to a year.
The WFP has aided approximately 277,000 refugees from Sudan who fled the conflict by moving to Egypt since its onset in April.
These refugees struggle to meet their basic needs or find jobs.
The aid includes food packages given out at the borders in Aswan, and cash assistance in Cairo, Alexandria and Aswan issued by the WFP’s emergency cash assistance platform through e-cards.
“Switzerland’s assistance arrives at a critical time and will allow us to continue to provide this vital assistance to Sudanese across the country,” said the WFP’s Representative and Country Director in Egypt Praveen Agrawal.
“Through this timely and opportune assistance, we can reach people within a matter of minutes, providing them with cash to meet their essential needs through a network of over 140,000 retailers.”
Switzerland’s Ambassador to Egypt Yvonne Baumann thanked the WFP for its tireless commitment to improving the lives of Sudanese refugees.
“Switzerland remains committed to engaging with its partners to improve the resilience and well-being of people,” she said.
The UNHCR, which has been coordinating the Regional Response Plan for the Sudanese crisis, said that as of October up to 330,000 Sudanese refugees and 7,000 from other nationalities have crossed the Sudanese-Egypt border.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi back in July warned of the worsening situation in Sudan and its negative repercussions worldwide – especially to Sudan’s neighboring nations.
At the opening of a summit of Sudan’s neighboring countries which kicked off on July in Cairo, Sisi explained that Sudan’s neighboring countries are the most affected by the Sudanese crisis, and urged the importance of taking measures to mitigate the situation.
