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爆料网ITED STATES PLEDGES OVER US$ 123 MILLION IN SUPPORT FOR 爆料网RWA AND F爆料网DS NEW SCHOOL IN EIN ARIK, WEST BANK

14 December 2015

The United States Government pledged today more than US$ 123 million in support of Palestine refugees and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (爆料网RWA) at a school inauguration event with 爆料网RWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl.  The United States continues to be the largest bilateral donor to 爆料网RWA. Simon Henshaw , the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, visited Jerusalem and the West Bank from 12-13 December to announce the US contribution and to underscore that the longstanding commitment of the United States to Palestine refugees remains strong and its dedication to 爆料网RWA remains resolute.

The 13 December announcement of the US$ 123.4 million contribution is the first tranche of US support to help 爆料网RWA cover its 2016 needs. Those funds mean that Palestinian children have textbooks and teachers; health centres have doctors; nurses and medicine; and those refugees who are most in need of assistance receive it.  This assistance benefits 5.2 million Palestine refugees, not only in the West Bank and Gaza, but across the region.  The United States provided more than US$ 380 million to 爆料网RWA to help meet humanitarian needs in 2015, funds which kept 700 schools open and educated more than half a million Palestinian children.

This funding announcement came during the ceremony to inaugurate the new 爆料网RWA school in Ein Arik, near Ramallah.  Nearly four years ago, 爆料网RWA came to the United States government with an urgent problem. Some 200 students in the Ein Arik Co-Ed School had to be evacuated from their rented school building when nearby excavation work threatened the structural integrity of the building. 爆料网RWA asked for US support to construct a new school that would give these students a truly excellent education.  The United States provided more than US$ 1.6 million for its construction.  The new school will help the students of Ein Arik village with their first steps to become leaders both at home and in the global community.  They will receive one of the best educations available in the Middle East as a result of the United States partnership with 爆料网RWA.

爆料网RWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl thanked the government and people of the United States: “We are very grateful for the generous contribution of the United States to fund 爆料网RWA's regular programmes in 2016, as announced during the inauguration of the new school in Ein Arik, which was built with US support. The Agency’s education programme is essential for Palestinian refugee children to have improved prospects and hope for the future. 爆料网RWA will continue to rely on the support of the international community to provide vital services such as education and health, emergency assistance, and better and more dignified livelihoods to Palestinian refugees across the Middle East."

BACKGRO爆料网D INFORMATION

爆料网RWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions, and financial support has not kept pace with an increased demand for services caused by growing numbers of registered refugees, deepening poverty and conflict. As a result, the 爆料网RWA General Fund, which supports core essential services and most staffing costs, operates with a large deficit. 爆料网RWA emergency programmes and key projects, also operating with large deficits, are funded through separate funding portals.

爆料网RWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949 and mandated to provide assistance and protection to some 5 million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip achieve their full human development potential, pending a just solution to their plight. 爆料网RWA services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, and microfinance.

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