Algiers, 8 April 2025 (SPS) — United Nations (UN) agencies and humanitarian actors presented Tuesday, in Algiers, the first annual report of the Sahrawi Refugee Response Plan (SRRP) for 2024-2025, urging greater international backing to maintain and ramp up efforts.
The report, launched in late 2023, provides an update on the progress in supporting Sahrawi refugees across five refugee camps in Tindouf, amid escalating global humanitarian crises and shrinking aid budgets.
Various speakers presented the outcomes from the first year of this two-year response plan for Sahrawi refugees— totaling $214 million—and outlined the objectives for 2025.
According to the organizers, response efforts were stepped up in 2024 under the direction of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF, and the World Health Organization (WHO), with an alliance of 28 humanitarian actors working on the ground to address the essential assistance and increasing needs of Sahrawi refugees.
“Thanks to the local leadership of the Sahrawis, the unwavering commitment of the Algerian government and the ongoing donor support, major efforts have been made across various SRRP sectors to address the critical needs of Sahrawi refugees,” they said.
They noted progress in various areas such as food security and nutrition, water, sanitation and energy, education, health and protection, as well as in livelihoods.
In this regard, the interim United Nations Resident Coordinator in Algeria, Natasha van Rijn, commended in a statement to the press the “very positive” and “extremely important” collaboration between the UN System and its partners on one side, and the Algerian government on the other.
“Whenever financial or operational shortfalls arise, Algeria has consistently stepped in without hesitation,” she said.
Kouadio Jules Alla, head of field activities at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, also expressed his “gratitude” to Algeria for its “crucial” support in developing the SRRP.
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