UNRWA receives pledges of $172 million

Pledges of support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) at a Wednesday meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee of the General Assembly for the Announcement of Voluntary Contributions to UNRWA reached $172 million, the United Nations said.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Peter Hansen said UNRWA would need funding of $360 million next year and $375 million in 2001.

A UN press release said the organization's spending per refugee had fallen to about $70 a year, from a high of $200 a year, saying that steps were being taken to resolve a "chronic deficit problem" faced in recent years by UNRWA.