Middle East Monitor / April 10, 2020
A spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) spokesman, Sami Mshasha, said on Wednesday that the agency had received less than $4 million out of the $14 million it had requested to confront the coronavirus.
He explained that the agency used the funds to purchase basic materials like sanitisers, cleaning materials, food baskets and medicines for those with chronic diseases in a number of refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip.
Mshasha explained that the agency, in coordination with Jordan and Sweden, will hold a meeting on 15 April to request countries support the agency to tackle the coronavirus in its five areas of operations.
The agency is requesting $14 million to cover the refugees’ needs to confront the coronavirus pandemic, but in Syria alone it needs $270 million to manage its emergency services.
Mshasha warned of the catastrophic conditions experienced by the Palestinian refugees in Syria even before the pandemic.
