Jerusalem
17 April 2012
The Asturias Regional Government has donated EUR 72,000 towards the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees’ (UNRWA) school-feeding programme in the Gaza Strip.
Poverty levels, access to livelihoods and employment, driven by Israel’s ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip, are all deeply connected to food insecurity in Gaza. UNRWA has recently identified an additional 200,000 refugees living below the abject poverty line of USD 1.60 per day in Gaza, bringing the total number to 300,000 people. As a result of this pervasive poverty, food insecurity has risen to 63 per cent in the coastal enclave.
UNRWA’s school-feeding programme aims to provide a 12-day menu that includes a range of sandwiches, yogurt, fruits, and drinks for up to 221,000 students over the 180-day school year. The school-feeding programme is specifically designed to address the needs of school children, who continue to suffer from a deteriorating socio-economic environment characterised by poverty and depravation. Evidence reveals that adequate nutrition helps students focus on their schoolwork and encourages them to attend school every day.
The latest contribution by Asturias will enable UNRWA to provide 381,758 meals to 14,683 students during 26 school days in 2012. This assistance comes in a time of great need, deepening vulnerability and rising humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
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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.
UNRWA’s Spanish Comittee works to support UNRWA’s humanitarian programmes and to raise awareness within Spanish society of the situation facing Palestine refugees.
For more information, please contact:
Cristina Poveda
Communication and Marketing
UNRWA Spanish Committee
Mobile: (+34) 638 879 561
Office: (+34) 917 027 059
cpoveda@unrwace.org
María González
Communication
UNRWA Spanish Committee
Mobile: (+34) 638 879 561
Office: (+34) 917 027 059
mgonzalez@unrwace.orgce.org
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