The U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East is set to receive up to 96.1 million pounds ($149 million) from the United Kingdom.
U.K. Minister of State for International Development Alan Duncan announced the new aid package Monday (June 11), following a visit to the Bourj al Barajneh refugee camp in Beirut, Lebanon. It is meant to provide health, education and other vital services to Palestinian refugees where UNRWA works: West Bank, Gaza, Syria, Lebanon and Jordan.
Apart from the “already confirmed” three-year aid package worth 7.5 million pounds, the United Kingdom pledged to provide an additional 99.5 million pounds by 2015. Some of the money will help improve UNRWA’s service delivery.
The announcement comes a week after Australia committed to provide 90 million Australian dollars ($88.6 million) to UNRWA. The five-year assistance is also meant to improve Palestinian refugees’ education and health.
There are more than 5 million registered Palestinian refugees as of Jan, 1, according to UNRWA.
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About the author
Jenny Lei Ravelo@JennyLeiRavelo
Jenny Lei Ravelo is a Devex Senior Reporter based in Manila. She covers global health, with a particular focus on the World Health Organization, and other development and humanitarian aid trends in Asia Pacific. Prior to Devex, she wrote for ABS-CBN, one of the largest broadcasting networks in the Philippines, and was a copy editor for various international scientific journals. She received her journalism degree from the University of Santo Tomas.