BEIRUT, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- A UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) official said on Monday that the agency has enough funds only to run to the end of September.
"I gave ... an overview of the UNRWA's financial situation following the U.S. decision to defund the agency, which will surely impact the different services offered to Palestinian refugees," Claudio Cordone, director of UNRWA affairs in Lebanon, was quoted by Elnashra, an independent online newspaper, as saying.
Cordone made the remarks during his visit to Bahia Hariri, a Lebanese lawmaker.
He also informed Hariri of the financial support promised for the agency by Arab and other foreign countries to compensate for the funding shortage caused by the United States.
Schools belonging to UNRWA have started the academic year and the UN refugee agency is committed to continuing its education services without any problem, Cordone noted.
The United States announced earlier this month that it will no longer contribute to UNRWA, calling the UN refugee agency an "irredeemably flawed operation."
Some countries, including France, Switzerland and Britain, have agreed to increase their donations to UNRWA.
As the oldest and largest relief organization, UNRWA was established in 1949 and mandated to provide assistance and protection to some 5.4 million registered Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to achieve their full potential in human development.
Its services include education, health care, relief, social services, infrastructure, camp improvement and microcredit.
