Claudio Cordone, Director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Lebanon, speaks at a press conference in Beirut, Lebanon, on Feb. 4, 2020. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) launched on Tuesday its funding appeal for 2020, the National News Agency reported. (Photo by Bilal Jawich/Xinhua)
BEIRUT, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) launched on Tuesday its funding appeal for 2020, the National News Agency reported.
It includes 270 million U.S. dollars for the regional crisis in Syria in addition to financing the relief plan for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon in light of the deteriorating economic conditions in the country.
UNRWA Director in Lebanon Claudio Cordone, during a press conference held in Beirut, said that the required funds provide vital assistance to approximately 438,000 Palestinian refugees affected by the conflict inside Syria.
The funding also should cover 28,000 people who fled to Lebanon and 17,000 others currently in Jordan and still face humanitarian challenges and need protection, Cordone said.
UNRWA faced severe financial challenges in 2019 with a deficit of nearly 50 million U.S. dollars.
