One million face hunger in Gaza after US cut to Palestine aid [View all]
Source: The Guardian
One million face hunger in Gaza after US cut to Palestine aid
UN relief agency warns of crisis next month unless donor countries provide $60m
Jennifer Rankin in Brussels
Wed 15 May 2019 12.49 BST Last modified on Wed 15 May 2019 13.29 BST
More than a million people in Gaza risk going hungry next month unless international donors fill a $60m (£46m) funding black hole largely created by cuts to Palestinian refugee aid by the Trump administration, a UN agency has said.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which provides food for more than 1 million people in the Gaza strip, is calling on the EU, Gulf states and large emerging economies such as Russia and China to make firm commitments of $60m by the middle of June to prevent hunger.
We are in a critical situation in terms of our food delivery work, said Matthias Schmale, the director of the UNRWAs operations in Gaza. We have over a million people receiving quarterly food handouts and many of these people would not really survive without that every quarter.
Speaking in Brussels before meeting European officials, Schmale said the most immediate reason for the funding gap was the loss of US support.
The US announced in 2018 it was cutting all funding to the UNRWA, an abrupt loss from the agencys hitherto largest donor, which provided $360m in 2017.
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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/15/1-million-face-hunger-in-gaza-after-us-cut-to-palestine-aid