Japan donates US$6.88 million for food aid to Palestine refugees

31 August 2010

For immediate release

The government of Japan has announced a donation of US$6.88 million (600
million Japanese yen) towards food aid as part of UNRWA's social safety net
programme for 2010 and 2011. The programme, aimed at alleviating poverty
among Palestine refugees, provides food aid and cash subsidies to more than
a quarter of a million impoverished people in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan,
Syria and Lebanon. The Japanese contribution will help UNRWA provide
vulnerable refugees with food including wheat flour and pulses. Families
benefiting from the social safety net receive food packages every three
months, including sugar, rice, oil and milk powder.

UNRWA Commissioner-General, Filippo Grandi, welcomed the Japanese
contribution, saying:

"This generous contribution is an example of the support of the government
and people of Japan to the well-being of some of the most vulnerable
Palestine refugees in the Middle East. This donation furthers more than 50
years of cooperation between UNRWA and the government of Japan, as we work
to meet the humanitarian needs of the refugees and support their human
development. It highlights Japan's commitment to UNRWA, which I saw for
myself in a recent visit to the country to explore ways to strengthen our
partnership with the Japanese government."

Grandi also referred to the Agency's current deficit of US$84 million for
its basic education, healthcare and social services programmes, saying: "I
hope that other donors, including those in the region, will contribute to
UNRWA's General Fund and will help bridge the Agency's huge deficit."

The agreement was signed today at the UNRWA women's programme centre in
Amman New Camp, Jordan, by Mr Grandi and the Japanese State Secretary for
Foreign Affairs H.E. Mr. Koichi Takemasa.

- Ends -

Background information:

UNRWA provides assistance, protection and advocacy for some 4.7 million
registered Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the occupied
Palestinian territory, pending a solution to their plight. The Agency's
services encompass education, health care, social safety-net, camp
infrastructure and improvement, community support, microfinance and
emergency response, including in times of armed conflict.

UNRWA is mostly funded by voluntary contributions from States. The Agency's
core budget for 2010-2011 stands at US$1.23 billion. In 2009, emergency
appeals for the West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon amounted to US$827.4 million.

Japan has been providing food aid to UNRWA since 1970, and is among a number
of donors that today regularly contribute to UNRWA's social safety net
programme. Japan's assistance to the Palestine refugees through UNRWA, which
began in 1953, has amounted to almost US$600 million, including this year's
food aid contribution.

For more information please contact:

Sami Mshasha, UNRWA spokesperson:

s.mshasha@unrwa.org / +972 542 168 295

UNRWA Public Information

East Jerusalem