Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - The European Union (EU) renewed its commitment to supporting the work carried out by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), with a EUR12.6 million contribution targeting Palestinian refugees from Syria in Jordan.

"This support comes as part of a larger EUR43.2 million contribution to the agency’s emergency operations aimed at strengthening the resilience of Palestinian refugees in Jordan and Lebanon, in 2020 through 2021, and tailored also to support Palestinian refugees coping with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,"an UNRWA statement said on Wednesday.

The EU increased the initial allocation for 2020-21 with additional EUR7.2 million in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

This new funding, from the EU Regional Trust Fund in Response to the Syrian crisis (the EU MADAD Fund), will enable UNRWA Jordan field emergency operations to provide continued services to some 17,500 Palestinian refugees from Syria in Jordan.

"This additional assistance from the EU Trust Fund comes at the right time to support the efforts of UNWRA in addressing emergency operations for Palestinian Refugees from Syria in Jordan, following the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular through support to livelihood and protection services," said the EU Ambassador to Jordan, Maria Hadjitheodosiou.

Director of UNRWA Affairs in Jordan, Mohammed Adar expressed his appreciation to the EU for its continuous support to UNRWA saying: "This contribution will help UNRWA to ensure that Palestine refugees from Syria are able to meet their basic needs."