UNRWA DISTRIBUTES ADAHI MEAT TO 2,085 REFUGEE FAMILIES IN GAZA THANKS, TO GENEROUS SUPPORT FROM ISLAMIC RELIEF USA
14 September 2016
On 7 and 9 September, UNRWA distributed 695 live sheep to 2,085 Palestine refugee families, thanks to a generous contribution from Islamic Relief USA (IR USA) for the Muslim Al-Adha Eid celebration. The project was implemented in five UNRWA Distribution Centres, and targeted abject poor beneficiaries (those household who live below US$ 1.5 per person per day) in Gaza. One sheep was shared among three refugee families.
Today, over 80 per cent of the population in Gaza relies on humanitarian assistance to be able to cover their basic needs, such as food, basic education, basic health care or shelter.
The blockade on Gaza, now in its tenth year, continues to cause severe socio-economic and psychosocial distress for too many people in Gaza. There is an overall decrease in access to food in Gaza as a result of increased unemployment, high food prices and extreme volatility of the economy.
This project is part of UNRWA efforts to help mitigate the food insecurity among refugee families in Gaza and enable them to celebrate Eid.
IR USA has generously contributed US$ 250,000 for the ‘Supporting Poor Families during Al-Adha Eid’ project. The charity has contributed a total of US$ 12.6 million to Palestine refugees in Gaza through UNRWA since 2013.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
UNRWA is confronted with an increased demand for services resulting from a growth in the number of registered Palestine refugees, the extent of their vulnerability and their deepening poverty. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions and financial support has been outpaced by the growth in needs. As a result, the UNRWA Programme Budget, which supports the delivery of core essential services, operates with a large shortfall, projected for 2016 to stand at US$ 96.5 million. UNRWA encourages all Member States to work collectively to exert all possible efforts to fully fund the Agency’s Programme Budget. UNRWA emergency programmes and key projects, also operating with large shortfalls, are funded through separate funding portals.
UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and mandated to provide assistance and protection to some 5 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip achieve their full human development potential, pending a just and lasting solution to their plight. UNRWA services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, protection and microfinance.
For more information, please contact:
Christopher Gunness
Spokesperson, Director of Advocacy & Strategic Communications
Mobile:
+972 (0)54 240 2659
Office:
+972 (0)2 589 0267
Sami Mshasha
Chief of Communications, Arabic Language Spokesperson
Mobile:
+972 (0)54 216 8295
Office:
+972 (0)2 589 0724
Najwa Sheikh Ahmad
Acting Public Information Officer – Gaza Field Office
Mobile:
+972 597 920 542
Office:
+972 8 2887 488
Document Sources: Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Islamic Relief USA (IRUSA), United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
Subject: Assistance, Food, Gaza Strip
Publication Date: 14/09/2016