United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Commissioner-General Filippo Grandi warned on Tuesday of financial burdens the agency is facing, appealing for 100 million U.S. dollars to support the agency.
In a press conference in Jordanian capital Amman, Grandi called for supporting the agency's budget as the current financial support the agency receives does not take into account the increasing number of Palestinian refugees.
Grandi said the agency needs the 100 million U.S. dollars this year to "preserve the current level of services and improve services in the education and medical sectors." The agency's budget for the year 2010 stands at about 600 million U.S. dollars, according to UNRWA.
UNRWA provides its services to about 4.7 million Palestinian refugees in its five operations areas that are Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
Jordan is home to about 1.9 million Palestinian refugees, according to UNRWA.
Grandi said UNRWA will launch a campaign soon to increase the number of donors to the UN agency.
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