Eduardo González
The Basque Government has approved two direct grants of 500,000 euros each for the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
“Given the severity of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the prolonged refugee situation experienced by Palestinians in Jordan, the Government Council has approved two direct grants to UNRWA of 500,000 euros each,” the regional Executive reported this Tuesday in their website.
On the one hand, the Basque Government has approved emergency aid of 500,000 euros to respond to the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, as Lehendakari Íñigo Urkullu had announced last March. The aid will be provided through the Basque Agency for Cooperation and Solidarity, of the Department of Equality, Justice and Social Policies.
The purpose of the grant is to ensure emergency health services for the Palestinian population, who are in urgent need of therapeutic food and appropriate medical treatment. According to the latest UNRWA report, dated April 23, 1.7 million people have been forced to move (more than 75% of the population), including multiple times, in search of a safe place. Since 7 October 2023, UNRWA has continued to provide shelter, food, water, sanitation and psychosocial support services to the Gazan population.
On the other hand, the Basque Cooperation and Solidarity Agency will allocate another 500,000 euros to UNRWA to transform its Vocational Training Program aimed at the Palestinian refugee population. The initiative will focus, above all, on two educational centers in Jordan. To do this, it will have the support of the Vice-Ministry of Vocational Training and the Agency, which will facilitate technical cooperation exchanges between teaching professionals in Jordan and the Basque Country.
The project contemplates the technological updating of the training centers, the adaptation of the training plans to the labor market, the training of management teams, teachers and students, and the updating of the vocational training strategy of the United Nations Agency.
The Government of Pedro Sánchez has recently approved two contributions for a total of 23.5 million euros to help UNRWA in its humanitarian work in Gaza and to meet the food, educational and health needs of almost six million Palestinian refugees in the region. , despite the decision of a group of countries to freeze their contributions after a dozen of the agency’s employees (out of a workforce of 30,000) were accused of having participated in the Hamas attacks of October 7.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic to the Commissioner General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, on April 18 in New York. Both Albares and Pedro Sánchez visited two UNRWA camps during their recent visits to Jordan, as part of their tours to the Middle East to address the situation in the region, and more specifically in the Gaza Strip.
