UK announces £76.6 million for Palestine Refugees through UNRWA – UNRWA press release

United Kingdom announces £76.6 million for Palestine

Refugees through UNRWA

Jerusalem – Karen Koning AbuZayd, Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, today thanked the government of the United Kingdom for its contribution of £76.6 million to help support UNRWA services for Palestine refugees over the next four years.

The United Kingdom has long been a key contributor to UNRWA and has provided over £122 million since 2000.

The Secretary of State for International Development, the Right Honorable Hilary Benn MP, signed a memorandum of understanding with UNRWA’s Commissioner–General in Kalandia refugee camp in the West Bank. Prior to the signing, the Secretary of State toured Kalandia Camp, visited an UNRWA school, a health center, and the home of a family benefiting from UNRWA's Special Hardship Programme.

In an earlier statement, the Secretary of State for International Development stated: "This new funding will help ensure that millions of Palestinians will get essential services like health care, education, housing, water and sanitation."

Commenting on the donation Commissioner-General AbuZayd said, “UNRWA wishes to thank the British Government for its generous contribution. It arrives at a time of unprecedented need among Palestine refugees, and this multi-year agreement will assist the Agency in its planning in the medium-term."

This contribution will help UNRWA deliver essential services to a population of 4.3 million Palestine refugees living in Gaza, West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

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Note: For more information please contact Sami Mshasha at 0542168295