Brazil grants $ 7.5m to UNRWA programs in Gaza

The Government of Brazil Monday signed a contribution of US$ 7.5 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to support its education, health and social service programs in Gaza, said an UNRWA press release. The total one-year contribution will help the Agency sustain its humanitarian food assistance programme to 106,000 abject poor Palestine refugees, ensure a decent educational environment for 1,800 children, and help provide primary health care to 1.2 million refugees in 20 health facilities in the Gaza Strip. The agreement was signed during a ceremony at al-Ojah Basic Co-ed School in Jericho by Brazilian Representative to the Palestinian Authority, Ligia Maria Scherer, and UNRWA Commissioner-General, Filippo Grandi, added the press release. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Brazilian Representative Scherer said, “By means of its commitment, experience and hands-on approach in dealing with the problems affecting Palestinian refugees, UNRWA has been an invaluable partner of the international community”. Commissioner-General Grandi welcomed the contribution saying, “Brazil has led the way among the BRICS countries in supporting UNRWA’s human development work which helps create opportunities and improve the lives of Palestine refugees both in Gaza and throughout the region. I am particularly pleased that this contribution is to our core budget which will allow UNRWA to provide essential services to some of the poorest and most disadvantaged in the Middle East”. UNRWA noted that this latest agreement represented an increase in the Brazilian contribution of some 700%, placing Brazil as UNRWA’s largest donor amongst the BRICS and Latin American countries.