UN needs $100 mln for Palestinian refugees
Jordon: The cash-strapped UN agency for Palestinian refugees
said on Tuesday it needs at least 100 million dollars this year to
continue its services for millions of refugees in the Middle East.
“The fundings are insufficient to meet our needs to continue our
services,” UNRWA Commissioner General Filippo Grandi, who was appointed
in January, told reporters in Amman.
“So in addition to what donors have told us... we need approximately
50 million dollars more to meet the needs of 2010, the minimum needs,”
he said.
“I am making a strong appeal to the donors to give us more than this
to invest in... all the things that any public service requires to
function properly, and that means at least another 50 million dollars if
not more.”
Grandi said that UNRWA has also appealed to donors for an additional
350 million dollars to cover emergency situations such as “more
humanitarian assistance, food, cash, and job creation.”
UN sources told AFP that UNRWA’s budget for 2010 is estimated at 620
million dollars with a projected deficit of 140 million dollars.
The United States said on Thursday it has given an initial 40 million
dollars this year to UNRWA, which cares for 4.7 million Palestinian
refugees in the Middle East, to support its services in Jordan, Syria,
Lebanon, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.- Caption Palestinian
refugees. Amman, Thursday, AFP |