2024-02-07 12:59:01
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was established in 1949 to provide assistance to Palestinian refugees displaced by the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
Selvaraj Soosaimanikam – Vatican
UNRWA Director for Europe Mrs. Marta Lorenzo has said that we will not be able to provide life-saving aid to more than 20 million people by the end of February if donors do not reverse their suspension decision for Palestine.
During an interview given to the Vatican News, Mrs. Lorenzo assesses and explains the situation facing Palestinians across the Middle East after several donor countries suspended funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the East.
Ms. Lorenzo estimated that the funding freeze would soon weaken UNRWA’s humanitarian aid and education support for the roughly 22 million Palestinians in Gaza, which would run out of funding by the end of February.
Ms. Lorenzo said that we are concerned about the more than 10 million people who have taken refuge in our installations, adding that we are acting as the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza.
More importantly, more than half of the victims are children, and as the conflict escalates, we can see many hungry people being pushed into dangerous situations, Ms. Lorenzo said, highlighting the huge impact.
UNRWA provides life-saving services and support to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, including food aid, shelter, education, water, health and sanitation.
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