ADDITIONAL 219 REFUGEE FAMILIES RECEIVE SUPPORT FROM UNRWA
28 May 2015
Gaza
More than US$ 282,500 in funding, available for cash assistance for rental subsidies, repair works and reintegration grants, will reach 219 refugee families across the Gaza Strip. Of these, 99 families will be provided with rental subsidy payments, and 23 families will receive payments for severe, 22 for major, and 21 for minor repair works to their shelters. In addition, 54 families will benefit from the US$ 500 reintegration grant for lost household goods. Payments commenced last week, with families either receiving assistance via cheque or accessing the payments through local banks.
Emergency shelter – including support for home repairs, reconstruction and interim shelter solutions – is a top priority for UNRWA. The Agency remains committed to supporting affected families, yet requires new funding to continue the shelter cash assistance programme.
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 more than US$ 106 million.
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
Milina Shahin
Public Information Officer – Gaza Field Office
Mobile:
+972 599 609 485
Office:
+972 8 2887213
Document Sources: United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
Subject: Assistance, Gaza Strip, Internally displaced persons, Refugees and displaced persons, Shelter
Publication Date: 28/05/2015