GAZA, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) -- A senior Palestinian official on Saturday called on the international donors to increase their financial support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
Ahmad Abu Holi, head of the department of refugees' affairs in Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), said in a press statement that he made the call in light of the challenges UNRWA faces to meet its humanitarian needs.
He said there is a need to cover the financial deficit in UNRWA's budget to prevent new crises that would influence its services provided to the Palestinian refugees.
Abu Holi said that the PLO is holding intensive contacts with the Arab countries that host Palestinian refugees and UNRWA "to face the current challenges."
"The contacts focus on how to work under a joint effort to boost the global agency's financial resources and urge the world's donors to provide additional funding to support UNRWA's budget," he added.
Meanwhile, Abu Holi called on UNRWA to speed up working with its emergency plan to combat the spread of coronavirus among Palestinian refugees in the Palestinian territories, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria.
UNRWA, one of the United Nations agencies, provides humanitarian services to over 5.6 million Palestinian refugees. The agency's officials have repeatedly announced that UNRWA is passing through a severe financial crisis. Enditem
