The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and Finland signed a new Multi-Year Agreement (MYA) for the 2023-2026 period, with a total contributed amount of EUR 20 million. The agreement builds upon the long-term, close, and successful cooperation between UNRWA and Finland and follows the previous 2019-2022 MYA, which provided EUR 5 million per year to the Agency’s Programme Budget. The new MYA reconfirms Finland’s financial support to the Agency and the country’s support to Palestine refugees.
“Finland highly values the indispensable work of UNRWA with Palestine refugees, including in providing basic services for example in education and health care. Finland is a long-standing and stable supporter of UNRWA. More than ever, UNRWA needs adequate funds, political support, and sustainability to fulfill its core mandate,” said Ambassador Päivi Peltokoski from the Representative Office of Finland in Ramallah.
Since the beginning of the year, UNRWA has hosted a number of high-level meetings with Finnish representatives including Ms. Titta Maja-Luoto, Director-General at the Department for Development Policy of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, former President Tarja Halonen, and State Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ms. Johanna Sumuvuori. This is a testament to Finland’s support of UNRWA and the well-being of Palestine refugees.
“On behalf of the Agency, I would like to express my gratitude to the government of Finland for its commitment to supporting UNRWA with unearmarked and predictable funding disbursed early in the year. This trust is tremendously important for the Agency and its stability, especially considering the difficult current financial situation,” said UNRWA Director of Partnerships, Karim Amer.
Finland is a well-established partner of UNRWA. In 2022, Finland contributed an additional EUR 2 million to its EUR 5 million yearly contributions. These critical contributions support the Agency’s continuous provision of core services – including running 140 healthcare facilities that allowed for more than 7 million patient visits and 706 schools for over half a million students across its five fields of operation.