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Ammon News - U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield, announced that the US will provide more than $73 million in additional funding to support UNRWA’s core and emergency services.

This funding will help get food to needy families and provide health care to children and pregnant women. It will help students advance their education and support people affected by conflict with mental health services. It will provide immediate humanitarian relief to people in Jenin and Ein el Hilweh. And it will help create a more stable situation in communities, Thomas-Greenfield said in a statement.

She affirmed the United States' support for the critical aid efforts made by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), as she is the current chair of its advisory committee.

She thanked the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriate Affairs, Ayman Safadi, the US Secretary of State, and the Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom for hosting the ministerial meeting in support of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).

"In 2023 alone, the United States has contributed more than $296 million to UNRWA. And the Biden Administration has contributed nearly $1 billion since 2021. I encourage other Member-States to step up and make the financial commitments needed to fund UNRWA through the end of the year," she added.

The United States appreciates efforts to explore concrete options that will set UNRWA on a more sustainable funding path, she said, noting that she want to stress that these conversations must include hosts, donors, and refugees.

"We have to do everything in our power to lift up the inherent dignity of Palestinian refugees. So let us work together and let us meet this moment with urgency and let us meet this moment with contributions that will reflect our support for UNWRA and the Palestinian refugees," Thomas-Greenfield concluded.