First UNRWA Convoy in Two Years Reaches Palestine Refugees in the Damascus Suburb of Yalda – Press Release

Mr. Mohamed Abdi Adar, Director of UNRWA Affairs in Syria said: “These refugees had already suffered untold hardship because of years of besiegement and hostilities and then late April, intensified fighting in Yarmouk further destroyed many homes, displacing thousands. The traumas of war, combined with desperation and fear are taking an enormous toll, particularly on the children.  This assistance will give them a life line and help meet their urgent humanitarian needs. But more must be done in the longer term.”

The UNRWA team today distributed  food parcels, hygiene kits, kitchen sets, mattresses, mats, blankets and jerry cans to 614 families (approx. 2,500 individuals) in Yalda. Cleaning items and tarpaulins were also provided to a shelter hosting 65 families in the area. Our health staff also provided treatment to 200 patients in Yalda today and recorded critical health needs. The medical treatment and aid distributions will continue tomorrow.

“This work highlights the need to address the severe underfunding in UNRWA’s Emergency Appeal for Palestine refugees in Syria,” said Mohamed Abdi Adar. “Across Syria, we are providing urgent humanitarian assistance including food, healthcare and cash to hundreds of thousands of Palestine refugees and yet the Syria portion of the Emergency Appeal is less than 5% funded. He added “we have already had to reduce our emergency cash assistance in Syria from 64 US$ to 46 US$ covering a 2 month period and unless the donor community responds rapidly, there will be further reductions of these life-saving services. That could prove catastrophic for hundreds of thousands of people”.