The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has managed to narrow the funding gap for the year 2018, following US funding cutsm from $464 million to $21 million, UNRWA Commissioner-General, Pierre Krineball, announced on Monday, November 19, 2018.

UNRWA managed to reduce the deficit by attracting new funding from the Gulf, Turkey and many other countries after the United States announced cutting its $360 million in annual aid to UNRWA.

Krineball said during the UNRWA Advisory Committee meeting aimed to discuss the UN relief agency’s 2019 budget: "UNRWA is on the path to recovery from its biggest deficit to date, and this is thanks to partners like you.”

#UNRWA Commissioner-General @PKraehenbuehl addresses the UNRWA Advisory Commission: "UNRWA is on the path to recovery from its biggest deficit to date, and this is thanks to partners like you."

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) November 19, 2018

Krineball added that UNRWA seeks to have this additional funding repeated annually so the financial crisis doesn’t happen again.

Twenty-five donor and host countries in addition to three observer countries are meeting today, at the Dea Sea, to discuss ways of supporting UNRWA.