Britain announces new 3-year aid package to UNRWA

United Kingdom International Development Minister Alan Duncan announced a new three-year package of UK aid for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to support Palestine refugees in the region, said an UNRWA statement on Monday. The new UK package will help provide health, education and other vital services to tens of thousands of Palestine refugees in the West Bank, Gaza, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, added the statement. UNRWA said the total funding over the next three years amounts to £7.5 million already confirmed for this year, plus up to an additional £99.5 million by 2015. The new support will include delivering education for over 36,000 children a year, getting at least four ante-natal appointments per year for over 6,000 pregnant women, and contributing cash transfers to over 20,000 households a year, giving individual households flexibility to buy what they need and also boosting the local economy. “By providing education, health, relief and protection, UNRWA is helping to improve the living standards and long-term prospects for tens of thousands of Palestinians, as well as meeting more immediate humanitarian needs with food and income support for the most vulnerable,” said Duncan. UNRWA Commissioner-General Filippo Grandi said, “Importantly, by providing predictable support over three years, the UK will enable UNRWA to plan ahead to address needs on a longer term basis.”