UNRWA announces ‘large-scale’ maintenance project

AMMAN — UNRWA recently announced a “large-scale” maintenance project to ensure that 268 schools and health centres in Syria, Jordan, Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem are structurally sound and accessible to visitors.

This project was made possible through a $23 million grant from the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), according to UNRWA’s website.

“We are extremely grateful that the SFD has made this support available, as many of our structures needed maintenance,” UNRWA Commissioner General Pierre Krähenbühl said. “Going into a well-kept school or health centre can make a huge difference in terms of respect and morale, and that is exactly what we want people to feel — we care about your dignity.”

The funding falls under a package of three agreements valued at $63 million, and signed in November 2018 between the Saudi Development Fund and UNRWA, in support of projects across all five fields of UNRWA operations in the region.

Saudi Arabia is currently the third-largest donor to UNRWA and has contributed over $800 million since 1994, according to UNRWA.

“Regular maintenance and upgrading of UNRWA facilities is key to the health and safety of the children, men and women who visit our schools and health centres,” Krähenbühl said. “Maintenance may sometimes take a backseat in the face of other more pressing needs such as food assistance and healthcare, but we always seek to ensure that our structures are safe and our equipment functions efficiently.”