UNITED NATIONS, June 23 (Xinhua) -- United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday urged the international community to make the funding for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) sustainable, predictable and sufficient.

"We must continue in the effort to make UNRWA funding sustainable, predictable and sufficient. This means addressing the chronic funding shortfalls and persistent cash flow crises through commitments, not only for one year, but years to come," the UN chief told the Extraordinary Virtual Ministerial Pledging Conference: "A Strong UNRWA in a Challenging World - Mobilizing Collective Action."

"The agency is not only a lifeline for millions of Palestine refugees, but also critical for regional stability," he said.

The secretary-general said that the contributions of the international community to the agency can ensure education for more than half a million students; primary health care, with more than 8 million visits to UNRWA health facilities each year; food and cash assistance for about 1.8 million vulnerable Palestine refugees in Gaza; and micro-finance opportunities for Palestine refugees to generate income.

"Your support also enables UNRWA to safeguard and advance the rights of Palestine refugees under international law, including gender equality, child protection and the rights of persons with disabilities," he said.

The UN chief noted that he fully understands the challenging financial circumstances faced on many fronts. "But it is precisely in difficult times when our resolve is tested, that we must work even closer together."

"For more than 70 years, UNRWA has provided crucial assistance to Palestine refugees. We share a collective responsibility to them until the realization of a just and viable political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," he said.

UNRWA is a UN agency created in December 1949 to support the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees.

UNRWA now provides food supplies to more than 1.1 million refugees in the Gaza Strip which has been under an Israeli blockade since 2007. The agency provides humanitarian aid and support to around 5.6 million Palestinian refugees in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip.

The agency runs 709 schools that provide education to 532,000 pupils and 144 clinics, besides millions of refugees who receive food supplies in the five areas. Enditem

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