India contributes $5 million to UNRWA

New Delhi (QNN)- India on Tuesday contributed $5 million to the UN Palestine refugee agency and called for ensuring sustained fiscal support for the organisation’s work, reported Indian website The Week.
The aid was handed over to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) by Representative of India (ROI) in Palestine, Sunil Kumar, at the agency’s headquarters in occupied Jerusalem.
India increased its annual financial assistance to the UNRWA by four fold, from USD 1.25 million to USD 5 million, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Palestine in February 2018, the first ever visit by an Indian Premier to Ramallah.
Expressing his appreciation for the commendable work carried out by the agency, Kumar underlined, “India’s steadfast support for its activities in the region in providing assistance to about 5.4 million Palestine refugees in helping them achieve their full human development potential”.
UNRWA has been providing health, education, relief and social services, as well as emergency humanitarian assistance, through its five branches in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank, and the Gaza Strip since 1950.
India’s contribution comes as the agency faces a difficult financial situation due to decrease in voluntary contributions from its limited donor base and Trump’s ending of all funding.