The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) officially opened its new logistics base in Rafah, which is the largest of its kind in the Gaza Strip.
The construction of the logistics base was part of a US$ 62 million agreement between UNRWA and the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), which was signed in May 2015. In addition to the construction of the logistics base, which includes an open area container yard, 26 warehouses, a parking area, fuel station, as well as an administrative building, it also provided funding for the repair and reconstruction of housing units and support to develop UNRWA education and health infrastructure in Gaza.
The base will serve as logistics hub for UNRWA operations in Gaza’s southern governorates and as the main warehouse for the storage of basic food, which the Agency distributes to approximately one million refugees on a quarterly basis, as well as emergency non-food items and medicines.
“We are very grateful for the support to UNRWA and Palestine refugees extended by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Saudi Fund for Development. The new logistics base is just one of many examples of the strategic and forward-looking nature of our partnership and commitment of supporting Palestine refugees in Gaza,” said Christian Saunders, who returned to UNRWA in his new capacity as Deputy Commissioner-General after having started his UN career in Gaza in 1989.
As of today, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has contributed more than US$ 800 million to UNRWA. Over the past three years, it has become the Agency’s third-largest donor. Since 2005, it has also been a valued member of the UNRWA Advisory Commission which advises and assists the Commissioner-General in carrying out the Agency’s mandate.
Original source: UNRWA
Published on 05 September 2019
