Amman
In response to an appeal from the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNWRA) for emergency food supplies to help Palestinians displaced by the escalating violence and conflict in Gaza, Jordanian NGO Tkiyet Um Ali (TUA) has donated 15,000 family rations, which will help UNRWA feed 75,000 people for thirteen days. The total value of the food assistance is JOD 592,000 (US$ 835,800).
On 23 July, the first tranche – 5,000 rations – left the TUA warehouse, and will be delivered to Gaza by the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization. The two remaining shipments will follow.
The rations include items of high nutritional value, including items that are not normally found in international food-assistance packages. Buying from the same suppliers it uses for domestic food assistance within Jordan, TUA was able to provide packages containing sugar, halva, canned tuna, cheese, beans, hummus, powdered milk, tea, biscuits, luncheon meat and flavoured instant drinks. Each ration provides 1,000 calories per person per day.
The pressure on food supplies within Gaza is growing exponentially as the violence continues. With over 140,000 displaced sheltering in UNRWA facilities as at 25 July, there is great need for continued support from the international community. However, even before the escalation of violence, years of blockade and restrictions on farming and fishing had rendered food insecurity a serious problem in the Gaza Strip.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and is mandated to provide assistance and protection to a population of some 5 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip to achieve their full potential in human development, pending a just solution to their plight. UNRWA’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, and microfinance.
Financial support to UNRWA has not kept pace with an increased demand for services caused by growing numbers of registered refugees, expanding need, and deepening poverty. As a result, the Agency's General Fund (GF), supporting UNRWA’s core activities and 97 per cent reliant on voluntary contributions, has begun each year with a large projected deficit. Currently the deficit stands at US$ 69 million.
For more information, please contact:
Christopher Gunness
UNRWA Spokesperson
Mobile:
+972 (0)54 240 2659
Office:
+972 (0)2 589 0267
c.gunness@unrwa.org
Sami Mshasha
UNRWA Arabic Spokesperson
Mobile:
+972 (0)54 216 8295
Office:
+972 (0)2 589 0724
s.mshasha@unrwa.org