The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has said that it is facing a serious budget crisis and needs urgent dollars to continue providing essential services in education, health care and other vital services. 120 million (€103 million) is required. areas of life, said Philippe Lazarin.
He said the agency’s ability to help 550,000 children go to school, provide medical care to thousands, and pay the wages of 28,000 employees for November and December is currently at risk, so it is not clear if they Will I be able to continue working or not?
US President Joe Biden’s administration announced in April this year that it was resuming $235 million in financial aid to the Palestinians, which was suspended by Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump. Lazzarini emphasized the importance of the move, but noted that at the same time the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic had reduced the uncertainty of other donors’ contributions and potential donors in the Middle East.
To address this, a joint Jordanian-Swedish conference is scheduled in November in Brussels, with the main objective of providing the agency with more predictable support over the long term.
According to the head of UNRWA, the agency will need $800 million per year over three years to provide key activities: education, health care and social security.
In addition, the agency needs a separate budget for emergency humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip and Syria, Lazzarini said, adding that this year it is about $500 million and could be about next year.
The total number of Palestinian refugees in the region is about 5.7 million, but according to Lazzarini, UNRWA only provides assistance to 550,000 students and 2.8 million people in need of health care.
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