UNITED NATIONS, New York – The United Nations agency that supports Palestinian refugees announced Friday that it is seeking $800 million at a donor conference in Brussels in November.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini told reporters at the United Nations Headquarters in New York that the organization needed “forecast” for its operations.
To fund UNRWA’s “three main activities” – education, health and social services – “we are seeking $800 million per year,” he told reporters before the gathering organized by Jordan and Sweden.
The Swiss diplomat said “the main objective of the conference is to better predict” and “promote visibility”.
The funding will allow the agency to open 700 or more schools to cater to 550,000 children as well as health centers and provide social welfare to Palestinian refugees and their descendants.
In addition to the $800 million, Lazzarini said funding was also needed for humanitarian aid provided by UNRWA, which varies from one year to the next depending on the crisis, but the agency estimates would be around half a million dollars. in 2022.
Refugee schoolgirls watch as the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, Pierre Krahenbuhl, holds a press conference to launch a global campaign to support UNRWA, UNRWA Rimal Girls Preparatory School in Gaza City, January 22, 2018. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)
Lazzarini, who took office last April, said his agency was $100 million short of looking at this year, and warned it may have to shut down some activities in November and December.
“Today we keep fighting, running after cash,” he said. “I never know whether I will be able to pay the salaries of 28,000 employees in the coming weeks as commissioner-general.”
UNRWA provides aid to the more than five million Palestinians registered with it in the Palestinian Territories, Jordan and Lebanon.
Israel has long pushed for the UNRWA to be closed, arguing that it helps keep conflict with the Palestinians afloat because it grants refugee status to descendants of people who were originally from Israel. They were displaced around the time of the freedom struggle.
The agency recently announced an investigation allegations Anti-Semitic and anti-Israel prejudice against ten of its employees throughout the Middle East.