JERUSALEM, March 9, 2017 (WAFA) – The European Commission for Humanitarian Operations (ECHO) has contributed a total of €5 million ($5.4 million) to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in support of the Agency’s emergency response in Syria, it was announced on Thursday.
UNRWA said in a press release that this donation will go towards life-saving emergency cash assistance provided by UNRWA to 430,000 Palestine refugees in Syria.
The UN agency said ECHO support will also enable it to enhance its preparedness and ability to respond to sudden and unforeseen localized emergencies, which is critical at a time of profound instability throughout the country.
Approaching its seventh year, the war in Syria has displaced over 60 per cent of the Palestine refugees registered with UNRWA in the country and forced 95 per cent of them to become dependent on humanitarian aid to meet their most basic food and shelter needs.
“Palestine refugees continue to be severely impacted by the protracted crisis in Syria,” said Acting Field Program Support Officer for UNRWA in Syria Laura Sunnen, acknowledging this generous donation.
“We are grateful for the unwavering support of the European Commission for Humanitarian Operations to Palestine refugees, whom UNRWA continues to support six years into the crisis with utmost dedication and commitment,” she added.
“The European Union’s (EU) main objective is to assist the most vulnerable people affected by the Syrian war,” said Olivier Beucher, a technical assistant for ECHO in Syria.
“Over the past few years, the EU has allocated some €18.5 million to UNRWA to provide emergency humanitarian assistance to conflict-affected Palestinians in Syria. Most of these people now live displaced inside Syria under extreme hardship,” he added.
ECHO is a long-standing partner of UNRWA and has generously supported the agency’s emergency response to the needs of Palestine refugees from Syria. Since 2012, ECHO has contributed nearly €23.9 million ($32.2 million) to the agency’s Emergency Appeal for the Syria Regional Crisis.
K.F./M.K.
