RAMALLAH, February 5, 2018 (WAFA) – Kuwait has Monday announced a donation of $900 thousand to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in response to the Agency’s Syria Regional Crisis Appeal.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl said in a press release “We are deeply grateful to Kuwait for this additional contribution in support of the 2018 Syria Regional Crisis Appeal at a time when a dramatic financial crisis threatens our ability to provide these life-saving services to Palestine refugees in and from Syria.”
“I would also like to express our gratitude to Kuwait, on behalf of all Palestine refugees, for its advocacy, as recently shown in the UN Security Council, and for encouraging all donors to provide funding to the Agency. Kuwait’s humanitarian leadership is highly valued,” he added.
This contribution represents the first pledge towards this appeal this year and Kuwait’s contribution will go towards life-saving assistance provided to the Palestine refugees remaining inside Syria.
UNRWA said the conflict in Syria continues to disrupt the lives of civilians, resulting in death and injuries, internal displacement, extensive damage to civilian infrastructure and persistent humanitarian needs.
“Palestinians are among those worst affected by the conflict. Of the estimated 438,000 Palestine refugees remaining inside Syria, over 95 per cent (418,000) are in critical need of sustained humanitarian assistance to meet their most basic food and shelter needs. Almost 254,000 are internally displaced, and an estimated 56,600 are trapped in hard-to-reach or inaccessible locations,” it explained.
Kuwait has been a longstanding donor to UNRWA, contributing a total of $55 million over the last five years in support of the Agency’s efforts to assist Palestine refugees in Syria.
In 2018, UNRWA requires $409 million for its humanitarian response to the Syria regional crisis in order to provide aid, including cash assistance, food, water, shelter and medical assistance.
Despite the immense security challenges, UNRWA also provided education to over 47,000 Palestine refugees, supplementing regular classes with psychosocial support and safety-awareness training. For those unable to each their classrooms, UNRWA has developed distance-learning materials.
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