ReliefWeb

This winter, over 18,000 Palestinian refugees from Syria (PRS) in Jordan will receive essential winterization support from the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany. A generous contribution of EUR 2 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) will enable the disbursal of winterization cash assistance to 4,699 PRS families, including 1,546 female-headed households and 8,217 Palestine refugee children. Beneficiary families will use this cash support for winter clothes, shelter accommodations, fuel, blankets and more.

In addition, this contribution will co-finance unconditional cash assistance requirements for the last three months of this year , providing 6,515 PRS, including 1,888 women and 2,953 children with daily essential food and non-food items.

“We are thankful that UNRWA is addressing the needs of vulnerable Palestinians, especially in regard to the rising costs in winter. UNRWA's work has a stabilizing effect on the ground and is absolutely essential. We are glad to support this important work through financial contributions to the Agency. Even in the times of the ongoing funding crisis, we remain a strong supporter of UNRWA and we will continue to support Palestine refugees in the future.“ said Chargé d’Affaires of the German Embassy in Amman, Dr. Florian Reindel.

“We highly appreciate Germany’s contribution to aid refugees either through winterization assistance or the cash assistance which refugees fully depend on to cover their most essential needs. This is a timely contribution, particularly when UNRWA is struggling to allocate resources to cover essential interventions to support the refugees amid its severe financial crisis,” said the Director of UNRWA Affairs, Ms. Marta Lorenzo.

Germany is a reliable partner of UNRWA both politically and financially. The portfolio had grown from EUR 67 million in 2016 to EUR 182 million in 2020. In 2019, Germany became the largest donor to the Agency, contributing EUR 151 million. In 2020, Germany again increased its funding to the Agency to reach EUR 182 million. In 2021, the Government of Germany will be the Agency's second largest donor.

Background Information: UNRWA is confronted with an increased demand for services resulting from a growth in the number of registered Palestine refugees, the extent of their vulnerability and their deepening poverty. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions and financial support has been outpaced by the growth in needs. As a result, the UNRWA programme budget, which supports the delivery of core essential services, operates with a large shortfall. UNRWA encourages all Member States to work collectively to exert all possible efforts to fully fund the Agency’s programme budget. UNRWA emergency programmes and key projects, also operating with large shortfalls, are funded through separate funding portals.

UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 with a mandate to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to registered Palestine refugees in the Agency’s area of operations, namely the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, pending a just and lasting solution to their plight. Thousands of Palestine refugees who lost both their homes and livelihood because of the 1948 conflict have remained displaced and in need of significant support for over seventy years. UNRWA helps them achieve their full potential in human development through quality services it provides in education, health care, relief and social services, protection, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance and emergency assistance. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Sami Mshasha
Director of Communications, Arabic Language Spokesperson
Mobile: +972 (0)54 216 8295
Office: +972 (0)258 90724
Email: s.mshasha@unrwa.org

Tamara Alrifai
UNRWA Spokesperson
Mobile: +962 (0)79 090 0140
Email: T.ALRIFAI@UNRWA.ORG