30 August 2012
East Jerusalem
The Austrian government has made a donation this year of EUR 750,000 to UNRWA’s health programming in the West Bank and Gaza. It will support the Agency’s health assistance to refugees, offering preventive, general medicine and specialist care services tailored for each stage of life.
Guided by the Millennium Development Goals on health and by the standards of the World Health Organization, UNRWA delivers basic health services and is responsible for contributing to a healthy living environment to about five million of Palestine refugees. The Agency operates 63 primary health-care facilities in the West Bank and Gaza, and facilitated 6.25 million patient visits in the last year.
After also making a contribution to UNRWA’s health programming last year, Austria has emerged as a strong continued supporter of the long and healthy lives of Palestine refugees in the occupied Palestinian territory.
Earlier this year, the Austrian government also donated EUR 600,000 to UNRWA’s core programming, bringing Austria’s total contribution in 2012 to EUR 1.35 million.
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Background information:
UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and is mandated to provide assistance and protection to a population of some 5 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip to achieve their full potential in human development, pending a just solution to their plight.
UNRWA’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance and emergency assistance. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions.
For more information, please contact:
Christopher Gunness
UNRWA Spokesperson
Mobile: +972 (0)54 240 2659
Office: +972 (0)2 589 0267
c.gunness@unrwa.org
Sami Mshasha
UNRWA Arabic Spokesperson
Mobile: +972 (0)54 216 8295
Office: +972 (0)2 589 0724
s.mshasha@unrwa.org
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