CASTILLA LA MANCHA REGIONAL GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS FOOD AID IN GAZA
31 October 2014
A EUR 50,000 (US$ 65,000) donation from the Castilla la Mancha Regional Government will help almost 4,800 people in Gaza access their daily food needs.
The food packages include products such as flour, oil, milk, canned meat, rice and sugar. They are designed to reduce the impact of poverty among refugee families in the Gaza Strip by helping the most vulnerable families meet their basic nutritional needs.
The Israeli blockade of Gaza, which entered its eighth year in June 2014, has made it increasingly difficult for people in Gaza to meet their basic needs. The blockade continues to have a devastating effect as access to markets and people’s movement to and from the Gaza Strip remain severely restricted. The economy and its capacity to create jobs has been devastated, with the majority of the population becoming dependent on humanitarian aid to meet basic needs. The number of Palestine refugees relying on UNRWA for food aid has increased from fewer than 80,000 in 2000 to over 830,000 today.
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$ 56 million.
For more information, please contact:
Christopher Gunness
UNRWA Spokesperson
Mobile:
+972 (0)54 240 2659
Office:
+972 (0)2 589 0267
Sami Mshasha
UNRWA Arabic 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: Spain
Subject: Access and movement, Armed conflict, Assistance, Closures/Curfews/Blockades, Economic issues, Food, Gaza Strip, Humanitarian relief, Living conditions, Population, Poverty
Publication Date: 31/10/2014