NEW YORK: The Saudi aid agency, the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), has signed a joint executive programme with the World Health Organisation (WHO) to implement humanitarian health interventions in the Lake Chad region, at a cost of $5.3 million.
The programme was signed on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Tuesday.
Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Rabeeah, Advisor to the Royal Court and Supervisor General of KSrelief, and Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of WHO, signed the agreement.
KSrelief Signs Joint Executive Program for Humanitarian Interventions in Lake Chad Regionhttps://t.co/dyUXxq4EGb#SPAGOV pic.twitter.com/WzPqIQO3U8
— SPAENG (@Spa_Eng) September 22, 2026
The initiative forms part of Saudi Arabia’s efforts, represented by KSrelief, to strengthen cooperation and coordination with the WHO to provide essential healthcare services and address critical health needs in the target countries.
Saudi-WHO project to boost disease surveillance in five countries
According to the WHO, the project covering Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Niger and Nigeria combines water, sanitation and hygiene activities, including drilling wells and rehabilitating public latrines — with epidemiological surveillance and the provision of medicines and medical consumables.
It will also rehabilitate medical facilities and equip radiology, sterilisation, operating theatre, emergency and intensive care units for children and adults.
More than 61,000 cholera cases were recorded in the African Region in the first five months of 2026.
.@WHO and @KSRelief have signed a US$5.3 million agreement to strengthen cholera preparedness and response in the Lake Chad Basin, supporting Cameroon, Chad, Mali, Niger and Nigeria.
The support will strengthen early detection, rapid response and access to life-saving cholera… pic.twitter.com/6iSUh7TnqV
— WHO African Region (@WHOAFRO) September 21, 2026
Nigeria accounts for the region’s largest outbreak, with over 50,000 cases and 338 deaths since January, while in Chad nearly two-thirds of infections are among children under 15.
Across the Lake Chad Basin, 8.2 million people require humanitarian assistance, and only 22 per cent of funding requirements had been met as of April 2026.
“Cholera is preventable and treatable, yet it continues to claim lives in communities already facing severe humanitarian pressures. Sustained support, such as this commitment from KS Relief, will enable five countries of the Lake Chad Basin to detect outbreaks sooner, respond more rapidly and deliver life-saving care where it is needed most,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus,” WHO Director-General.
The King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief) was established under the guidance of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Inaugurated in May 2015, KSrelief has provided impartial humanitarian aid and relief to over 100 countries in cooperation with local, regional and international organisations.
