UAE FUNDED FOOD AID REACHES PALESTINE REFUGEES IN SYRIA
18 February 2015
UNRWA DISTRIBUTES FOOD PARCELS TO OVER 93,000 FAMILIES DURING FIRST ROUND OF ASSISTANCE
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has started distributing food parcels to over 93,000 families Palestinian refugees in the Damascus area of Syria. This much-needed aid was made possible by the generous support and funding of the United Arab Emirates, which donated AED 55 million (US$ 15 million) in July 2014 to provide food assistance to conflict-affected Palestinian refugees in Syria.
The agreement between the UAE and UNRWA provides two rounds of critical food assistance to some of the 460,000 affected Palestinian refugees in Syria. With funding from the UAE, UNRWA has been able to procure and distribute over 630 metric tons of food to refugees thus far, with an upcoming round of distribution planned for this month.
It is a timely reminder of the deep and continuous suffering of the Palestinian refugees remaining in Syria, the vast majority whom now rely on UNRWA for their basic nutritional needs. They are experiencing chronic food insecurity as a result of the collapsed agricultural industry and soaring inflation, which reached more than 89 per cent in 2013. More than half of the Palestinian refugee population in Syria has been internally displaced, and most have lost family members, homes, incomes and livelihood. Unemployment across the country has reached 54 per cent and most refugees have exhausted any savings they may have previously had.
Palestinian refugees in Syria are now in their fourth winter of hardship. As families divert their incomes to provide adequate shelter, heating and warm clothing, food assistance provided by UNRWA, through the generous donations of the UAE, becomes even more critical to their welfare and resilience.
HE Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, UAE Minister of International Cooperation and Development said: “The UAE remains supportive and committed to those in need, wherever they are today, and will continue to work with our international partners to provide support to host countries and host communities. UNRWA is an important partner in this endeavour and we look forward to working with them now and in the future.”
The Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Pierre Krähenbühl, expressed his appreciation for this funding, saying: “We are very grateful to the people and Government of the UAE for this food donation to Palestinian refugees in Syria where, due to the devastating armed conflict, food insecurity continues to rise. We take it as an expression of trust in UNRWA and the work carried out by our staff under difficult conditions, for the benefit of the Palestinian refugee population in Syria.”
Since 2012, the UAE has committed AED 755.5 million (US$ 205.7 million) to those displaced by conflict in Syria. In addition to financial assistance, the UAE supports a number of educational and health initiatives, including the establishment of a 10,000 person refugee camp and a field hospital in Jordan.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and is mandated to provide assistance and protection to a population of some 5 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip to achieve their full potential in human development, pending a just solution to their plight. UNRWA’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, and microfinance.
Financial support to UNRWA has not kept pace with an increased demand for services caused by growing numbers of registered refugees, expanding need, and deepening poverty. As a result, the Agency's General Fund (GF), supporting UNRWA’s core activities and 97 per cent reliant on voluntary contributions, has begun each year with a large projected deficit. Currently the deficit stands at US$ 81 million.
For more information, please contact:
Christopher Gunness
UNRWA Spokesperson
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
Document Sources: United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
Country: Syria, United Arab Emirates
Subject: Armed conflict, Assistance, Food, Humanitarian relief, Living conditions, Middle East situation, Refugee camps, Refugees and displaced persons
Publication Date: 18/02/2015