Thai government backs UNRWA’s 90-day flash appeal with $80,000 contribution

AMMAN — Thailand on Wednesday donated $80,000 to support UNRWA’s 90 Days Flash Humanitarian Appeal in response to the ongoing crisis in the Gaza Strip.

The donation was announced during a pledging ceremony at UNRWA’s headquarters in Amman, which was attended by Ambassador of Thailand to Jordan Supark Prongthura, Deputy Chief of Mission Adisak Jantatum and their delegation to the Office of UNRWA Affairs in Jordan.

The funding supports UNRWA’s efforts to provide critical services and life-saving assistance in the months ahead for Palestinians in Gaza, according to an UNRWA statement sent to The Jordan Times.

The UNRWA Flash Humanitarian Appeal seeks to safeguard $104 million for its humanitarian response to the immediate food, non-food, health and shelter needs of up to 250,000 people in UNRWA’s shelters in Gaza and another 250,000 Palestinian refugees within the community, according to UNRWA website.

Director of UNRWA Affairs in Jordan, Olaf Becker, stated that “weare grateful for Thailand’s contribution at this critical time, in response to the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. It will allow us to purchase water; food and medical supplies urgently required by the population in the Gaza Strip... Your contributions will literally save human lives”.

Becker commended the Thai government’s consistent commitment as a regular donor to UNRWA, and its long-standing humanitarian tradition of offering relief funds for the agency.

Ambassador of Thailand Supark Prongthura, in his opening statement, said that “we stand with the international community in expressing our sympathies for the loss of lives and damage to property that have occurred”.

The ambassador said that the Thai government remains committed to providing financial support to UNRWA, a commitment that started back in 1978, noting that this contribution is an addition to Thailand’s recent multiyear pledge geared towards providing voluntary contributions to UNRWA, with an overall value of $200,000, from 2022 until 2026.

Reiterating Thailand’s commitment to help alleviate the suffering of the people of Gaza, the ambassador noted that this contribution aligns with His Majesty King Abdullah’s call for the international community to provide immediate assistance to UNRWA in response to the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the besieged Gaza Strip.