DUBAI: The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has begun distributing food parcels to more than 93,000 Palestinian refugees in Damascus, reported The National.
The aid was funded by the UAE, which donated Dh55 million in July 2014 to provide food assistance. The agreement between the UAE and UNRWA provides two rounds of critical assistance to some of the 460,000 affected Palestinian refugees in Syria.
UNRWA has been able to procure and distribute more than 630 metric tons of food to refugees so far, with an upcoming round of distribution planned for this month.
“The UAE remains supportive and committed to those in need, wherever they are today, and will continue to work with our international partners to provide support to host countries and host communities,” said Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of International Cooperation and Development. “UNRWA is an important partner in this endeavour and we look forward to working with them now and in the future.”
More than half of the Palestinian refugee population in Syria has been internally displaced, and most have lost family members, homes, incomes and livelihood. Unemployment has reached 54 per cent and most refugees have exhausted their savings.
