The Government of Japan has granted $4.5 million to support UNICEF’s humanitarian and development response to children in Palestine. The grant supports UNICEF interventions to improve birth services, early detection of disabilities and developmental delays in Palestinian children in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The agreement was signed in Ramallah by Palestinian Minister of Social Development, Ibrahim al-Shaer, Palestinian Health Minister Jawad Awad, Takeshi Okubo, Representative of Japan to Palestine, and Genevieve Putin, UNICEF Representative in Palestine.
Minister of Social Development, Ibrahim al-Shaer said, “Despite of the successes achieved in this area, we still suffer from the Israeli violations against children, especially field executions and arrests,’ calling on international institutions to work for the justice of the children of Palestine.
Representative of Japan to Palestine, Takeshi Okubo, reiterated his government’s commitment to support the Palestinian people, noting that this grant assistance aims to alleviate the suffering of children with special needs, reduce the psychological effects of disability on them, and to raise awareness among caregivers and communities; through improving and developing quality services in Palestine.
The grant will also be used to insure adequate sanitation services for children through the construction of water and. sanitary sewer facilities.