Swedish government increases humanitarian support to Gaza

[Celerity]

https://www.government.se/press-releases/2024/05/government-increases-humanitarian-support-to-gaza/

In view of the extensive humanitarian needs in Gaza, the Government has presented a new humanitarian aid package amounting to SEK 120 million. The support will be distributed to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Food Programme (WFP).

“The humanitarian situation in Gaza is devastating and the needs are immense, not least for many women and children. Sweden is one of the largest donors of humanitarian assistance to the crisis in Gaza. The Government is now further increasing the humanitarian support with a focus on addressing hunger and protecting women and children. We’re continuing to push for increased humanitarian access and the immediate release of hostages,” says Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Johan Forssell.

With this decision to further increase the humanitarian assistance, Sweden will have contributed more than SEK 520 million in humanitarian aid to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Sweden has long been one of the world’s largest donors of core support to a number of the humanitarian actors on the ground in Gaza.

In total, SEK 120 million in humanitarian assistance will be distributed as follows:

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) – SEK 20 million

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) – SEK 20 million

World Food Programme (WFP) – SEK 80 million, of which SEK 29 million is allocated to Gaza and SEK 51 million is core support.

UNICEF is on the ground in Gaza and is focusing on addressing the needs of children and families; including counteracting malnutrition in children and ensuring that the population has access to clean water and health and medical care. UNICEF also actively pursues children’s right to education, psychosocial support for children and cash-based support for families.

The support to UNFPA will contribute to maintaining access to services related to sexual and reproductive health and rights. Focus is on life-saving maternity care, maternal health care and neonatal care, in addition to measures aimed at preventing sexual and gender-based violence and providing protection and support to victims of violence.

The support to WFP helps ensure that food and nutritional support reaches the hunger-stricken civilian population, including in northern Gaza where independent experts consider that famine is imminent. WFP is also responsible for the UN’s logistics. The humanitarian support will therefore also help improve transport and logistics to ensure that it can reach those in need.