AMMAN EVENT CELEBRATES ONGOING EU SUPPORT FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES FROM SYRIA
10 March 2015
Amman
Representatives from the European Union (EU) and UNRWA met last week in Amman to discuss UNRWA support to Palestine refugees whose lives have been devastated by the brutal conflict in Syria. The event commemorated the partnership between the two organizations, which has helped UNRWA provide critical emergency relief and development support to a population left exhausted by four years of hostilities. The EU has generously provided EUR 50.2 million (US$ 68.3 million) in funding to UNRWA work in Syria since 2011.
Director of UNRWA Affairs in Syria Michael Kingsley-Nyinah said: “The EU is a trusted and valued partner of UNRWA and Palestine refugees. Their support makes a key difference in helping Palestine refugees survive the extreme hardships of the Syria crisis and continue to protect and build on the development gains made over the previous 60 years.”
The situation for Palestine refugees from Syria (PRS) remains desperate. About half of the 560,000 Palestine refugees registered in Syria have been internally displaced, losing their homes, livelihoods and communities. An additional 80,000 have fled to neighbouring countries including Lebanon, Jordan and Gaza, where they face discrimination and uncertain legal status.
Over 95 per cent of the refugees remaining in Syria now rely on UNRWA for their basic humanitarian needs, including food, cash, health care and education. In 2014, EU funding provided more than 35,500 PRS families (over 143,000 individuals) with cash support, and allowed UNRWA to distribute food parcels to more than 40,900 Palestine refugee families (163,652 individuals) across Syria. Together, cash and food assistance helps vulnerable families meet their minimum nutritional requirements and gives them the flexibility to respond to their changing humanitarian needs.
EU support has also helped UNRWA maintain reliable and responsive social services in Syria, including education, health care and microfinance loans. UNRWA has adjusted its programmes to ensure Palestine refugee children continue their education; this has included developing self-learning materials and providing psychosocial support for students impacted by the conflict. EU funding has likewise helped fund summer learning classes, the delivery of ‘Back-to-School’ kits for students and an SMS notification system to inform parents of school openings and closures in Syria. The UNRWA microfinance programme contributes to the self-reliance of the Palestine refugee population in Syria and increases their chances of an effective post-conflict recovery. Funding from the EU has contributed to the expansion of the UNRWA microfinance programme, with three new lending offices opened in Tartous, Latakia and Sweida.
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$ 100 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: European Union (EU), United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
Country: Jordan, Syria
Subject: Armed conflict, Assistance, Closure of institutions, Economic issues, Education and culture, Health, Humanitarian relief, Living conditions, Middle East situation, Poverty, Protection, Security issues
Publication Date: 10/03/2015