UNRWA says its schools to reopen on time

AMMAN — Schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) will open on time for the upcoming academic year, UNRWA Jordan Operations Director Mohammad Adar said on Monday. 

Adar’s remarks came during a meeting with Director General of the Jordanian Department of Palestinian Affairs (DPA) Rafiq Kherfan over the awaited renewal of UNRWA mandate to ensure continuity of services as well as work towards bridging the agency’s current budget shortfall, which stands at $151 million. 

According to a DPA statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, talks also went over the issues related to the agency’s operation in Jordan.

In light of the financial difficulties the UN relief agency is facing, the Education Ministry has earlier announced that the ministry will bear the costs of textbooks for the schools run by UNRWA in Jordan for the 2019-20 scholastic year.

UNRWA’s work covers Palestinian refugees mainly residing in the West Bank, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. In Jordan, over 2.1 million registered Palestinian refugees distributed among 10 camps benefit from the agency’s services and financial aid.

UNRWA’s financial problems started at the beginning of 2018 when it began the year with an overall budget shortfall of $146 million. The situation was then aggravated by the withdrawal of funding from the largest UNRWA donor — the US — and so the budget shortfall increased to $446 million.