OFID supports relief efforts in Gaza

Photo: IFRC. The Palestine Red Crescent Society is calling for international and national donations to support its response activities following the escalation of the Gaza crisis.

July 21, 2014, Vienna, Austria. The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) has approved a US$500,000 grant in humanitarian aid to help provide essential food and non-food items, mainly medical supplies, to populations in need in Gaza. The grant will be channelled through the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and operations will be implemented by the Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS). It is estimated that around 35,000 people will directly benefit from OFID’s grant.

The humanitarian emergency in Gaza has affected at least 5,600 Palestinian people who have been displaced due to damage to their homes. An additional 17,000 Palestinian are taking shelter in schools run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), with numbers expected to dramatically increase in the coming days. Essential consumables are currently out of stock in Gaza’s central drug store; a number of health facilities and schools have been damaged and around 1,300 homes have been destroyed or are partially damaged.

International assistance has been mobilized to provide urgent relief to the displaced populations in the form of shelter, food aid and medical supplies. The IFRC is supporting the efforts of the PRCS on the ground, and is coordinating with other actors, including the World Health Organization and the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

The relationship between OFID and the Palestinian people dates back to 1979. Since then, OFID has extended grants totaling nearly US$141 million through 516 grant operations, mainly through its special grant program for Palestine. More information about OFID’s support to Palestine can be found here.

Read press release issued in Arabic.