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UN:
UN AGENCY CALLS FOR URGENT AID TO GAZA AMID FEARS OF HUMANITARIAN CRISIS: 16/7/2007
(MaximsNews.com,
U.N.) |
UNITED NATIONS - / www.MaximsNews.com@
U.N./
- 16
July 2007 – The head
of the United Nations agency tasked with aiding Palestinian refugees has called
for urgent international assistance to the Gaza Strip, amid mounting fears of a
humanitarian crisis there.
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“The
violence in Gaza, coupled with the tight closures imposed by Israel has led
to a desperate humanitarian situation,” Karen AbuZayd, Commissioner
General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near
East (UNRWA), said
during a meeting yesterday in Cairo with Arab League Secretary General Amr
Musa.
Ms. AbuZayd
said the economic deterioration manifests itself amongst the population in
Gaza in the form of unemployment, which is running at around 36 per cent,
and poverty, which is already affecting an estimated two-thirds of
households.
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“We have
identified nearly $30 million worth of emergency projects for which we need
urgent funding and I make a special appeal to Arab donors to contribute,” she
said. Nearly half the funds will be spent on job creation schemes while the
remainder will be used for cash assistance programmes and shelter repair and
reconstruction.
UNRWA
also appealed for nearly $8 million for emergency cash assistance to help
refugees meet basic needs and as a complement to food aid. In addition, the
agency called on donors to fund nearly $9 million for shelter repair and
reconstruction.
“People are
living in dire conditions,” stated Ms. AbuZayd. “The recent violence has
damaged or destroyed thousands of buildings and there is an urgent need to have
these repaired.”
According to the
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA),
almost no raw materials were imported into Gaza in the week ending last Monday,
halting $370 million worth of construction. Due to the lack of supplies, only
one-fifth of the Gaza companies that were open two years ago are still
operating, and some 65,000 workers have been laid off.
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