UNRWA thankful as Jordan continues efforts to help

AMMAN — The international community’s support and the Jordanian efforts have helped UNRWA overcome its financial crisis in 2018, director of the relief agency’s operations in Jordan, Roger Davies, said on Saturday.

Davis said that the financial support extended by new donors, in addition to the current ones, contributed to bridging UNRWA’s deficit gap which amounted to $446 million, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported. 

The US, which has long been the largest individual donor to UNRWA, decided to halt all funding, cutting $300 million in US aid to the humanitarian organisation.

He added that UNRWA has launched an emergency appeal for $1.2 billion to fund the agency’s services for Palestinian refugees.

UNRWA Commissioner General Pierre Krähenbühl has called for a total of $1.2 billion to fund the agency’s vital core services and life-saving humanitarian aid for 5.4 million Palestine refugees across the Middle East.

The presentation of the agency’s 2019 priorities and financial requirements comes in the wake of remarkable global mobilisation to overcome an unprecedented shortfall and crisis following the decision by its largest donor, the US, to cut $300 million from its contribution last year.

Davis said that UNRWA is in contact with the Arab Gulf countries, which supported the humanitarian organisation with $200 million in 2018, adding that a number of the donor countries’ ambassadors paid field visits to UNRWA’s projects for Palestinian refugees in Jordan, according to Petra.