UNRWA deficit reaches $465 million

Jordan

Published: 2018-03-14 18:03

Last Updated: 2024-03-28 02:44


UNRWA is mainly funded by voluntary contributions from the UN member states.
UNRWA is mainly funded by voluntary contributions from the UN member states.

UNRWA’s financial deficit stands at $465 million in 2018, Manal Sultan, head of UNRWA public information office in Jordan told Roya.

An urgent meeting will be held on Thursday in Rome discussing the funding crisis of UNRWA. The foreign ministers of Jordan, Egypt and Sweden will chair the conference taking place at the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) headquarters. It will be attended by more than 90 countries including the US.

The agency is mainly funded by voluntary contributions from UN member states with the US as its largest donor.
Sultan said the conference aims to solve the organization’s financial crisis as UN member states share the costs and grant permanent sources of funding to UNRWA.

“UNRWA will continue working to overcome the deficit and secure permanent financial support to the organization that is responsible for providing services to more than 5.3 million Palestinian refugee in five countries including 2.3 million in Jordan,” Sultan confirmed.

She said UNRWA will also raise funds through its campaign “Dignity is Priceless” aiding the agency in its hardship.

The financial crisis facing UNRWA started in January when the US announced they would withhold more than half of the planned funding which negatively impacted refugees’ living conditions. The cut was preceded by the widely condemned US decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.