Press release: UK aid provides Palestinian refugees, including Gazans, with vital healthcare and education

UK aid is supporting the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) to educate 500,000 children and provide health services for 3 million Palestinian refugees.

The UK will deliver financial support earlier than originally planned to ensure vulnerable Palestinians continue to receive food, education and healthcare. At the UNRWA pledging conference in New York today (Monday 25 June), the UK will confirm that it will be imminently releasing £38.5 million to the agency to help alleviate some of the financial pressures the organisation is under.

Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt said:

The UN Relief and Works Agency is a necessary humanitarian and stabilising force across the Middle-East, providing millions of Palestinian refugees with hope and opportunities every day.

The recent violence on the Gaza border has significantly added to the burden on UNRWA’s services, and their vital work delivering food, education and healthcare has never been more critical.

I urge the international community to come together and follow our lead so the Agency can continue its often life-saving work.

Notes to Editors

• The UK will deliver financial support to UNRWA earlier than originally planned, releasing £38.5m to the Agency which includes £10 million on top of the £28.5 million package of support announced by Minister Burt at the Extraordinary Ministerial Conference on UNRWA in Rome in March. This urgent support will ensure vital frontline services remain uninterrupted.
• The announcement will be confirmed at the United Nations in New York by Jonathan Allen, Deputy Permanent Representative for the UK Mission to the UN.