RIYADH: More than SR1.8 billion ($480 million) were donated to the fourth National Platform for Charitable Work, or Ehsan, between its launch on the fifth day of Ramadan and the 30th day of the holy month, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman led donations on the first day with SR40 million and SR30 million respectively.

Donations during the campaign period exceeded 16 million transactions, with total contributions to the Ehsan Endowment Fund surpassing SR854 million, benefiting more than 1,700 partnering organizations.

Additionally, the total amount of Zakat Al-Fitr collected this year through the platform’s app and website amounted to more than SR36 million, involving more than 390,000 transactions.

This brings the total contributions through the Ehsan platform to over SR6.8 billion since its launch, assisting more than 4.8 million beneficiaries across various charitable and developmental sectors, including education, social welfare, healthcare, food aid, housing, religious support, and assistance for insolvents.

Established by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority under a royal decree, the Ehsan platform is overseen by a supervisory committee consisting of representatives from 13 government agencies.

Ehsan recently hosted an exhibition to highlight the completion of more than 95 percent of the Al-Salam Endowment Hospital project in Madinah.

The project is in the western courtyard of the Prophet’s Mosque along Al-Salam Road and covers an area of about 750 sq. meters. It comprises 14 floors, including an emergency department with a handling capacity of 4,000 patients per week, an intensive care unit capable of dealing with at least 300 patients per week, and a dialysis department capable of treating 400 patients per week.

The exhibition comprised several pavilions, where interactive screens highlighted the effects of philanthropy. An interactive map illustrated the effect of donations on beneficiaries in regions throughout Saudi Arabia.

Among the other major contributors this year were Saudi Aramco (SR35 million), national community developer ROSHN (SR30 million), the King Abdullah Foundation (SR20 million), the Al-Rajhi Endowment (SR15 million), SNB Al-Ahli (SR15 million), chemical manufacturer SABIC (SR10 million), the Saleh Abdullah Kamel Humanitarian Foundation (SR10 million), the Othaim Charity (SR8.6 million), the Hayat Charitable Foundation (SR6.3 million), and Ma’aden (SR5 million).