The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomed a US$3.6 million contribution from the Government of Canada to support nearly 200,000 of the most vulnerable non-refugee Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank.
The Canadian contribution will enable WFP to provide assistance through electronic vouchers, or cash-based transfers, to nearly 130,000 vulnerable people in Gaza and the West Bank for up to two months. Families receiving assistance, many of them headed by women, will be able to use their vouchers to buy nutritious and fresh foods at local retailers.
An additional 68,000 Palestinians in the West Bank will receive a three month supply of food packages consisting of fortified wheat, pulses, vegetable oil and salt. Canada’s funding will also help WFP to continue to provide family nutrition awareness trainings for women, men and elementary school children in Gaza.
“Canada aims to help meet the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable, especially women and children. Through this contribution to World Food Programme, Canada is supporting food assistance that responds to the immediate needs for some of the poorest families in the West Bank and Gaza,” said Douglas Scott Proudfoot, Representative of Canada to the Palestinian Authority.
Over the past ten years, Canada has contributed nearly US$100 million to WFP programmes that benefit Palestinians, making Canada the second largest donor to Palestinians as well as one of the largest donors to WFP globally. The significant contributions from Canada have allowed WFP to maintain assistance to the poorest non-refugee Palestinians, as well as to make investments in the local economy.
“We are grateful to Canada and its people for their longstanding support for poorer Palestinian families who have been affected by prolonged conflict, economic stagnation and poverty in both Gaza and the West Bank,” said WFP Representative and Country Director Daniela Owen. “Canada’s support is more critical than ever to help us continue to assist families who are facing enormous challenges so they can secure food and other basic needs.”
Since 2011, WFP has injected more than US$230 million into the Palestinian economy through local food purchases and cash-based transfers.
