R E F U G E E S

Khan Younis Refugee Camp

Khan Younis Camp is located about two kilometres from the Mediterranean coast north of Rafah, west of Khan Younis town, a major commercial centre and stopping-off point on the ancient trade route to Egypt. After the 1948 war, 35,000 refugees from Beersheva area moved to this camp. Today, the camp is home to 180,570 refugees.

Population:

  • 181,570 people (31 December 2008). 68,324 in the camp and 113,246 outside the camp and living in the eastern villages areas east of Khan Younis town.

  • The camp houses 16.92 per cent of Gaza’s total refugee population.

UNRWA Education Programme:

  • UNRWA operates 43 schools in 14 school buildings in the camp, 25 elementary and 18 preparatory. 11 of the 14 school buildings run on a double shift basis. UNRWA runs 15 schools of these schools (nine elementary and six preparatory) in Qarara, Fukhari, Ma'en, Abassan, Khuza'a, Bani Suhaila and Abu Tu'ema.

  • Enrollments in the current academic year totals 35983

  • The total number of class sections is 977, among them 677 classes in the elementary schools and 300 classes in the preparatory schools

  • The total number of teachers in the camp and the related areas to the camp is 1271, them 774 female teachers and 497 male teachers

UNRWA Relief and Social Services Programme:

  • The number of staff members in the camp is 20.

  • A total of 3486 families (16504 person) residing in the camp are eligible for relief assistance under the Agency’s Social Safety Net (SSN) programme.

  • The number of families classified as living in abject poverty and receiving Family Income Supplement is 1,627. There are 11,922 people classified as living in abject poverty.

  • There is one distribution centre in the camp.

  • 740 shelters are to be reconstructed under the SSN. Among them 519 are in the camp and 221 are out the camp.

  • The number of SSNP shelters that need to be repaired is 453 among them 149 are in the camp and 304 are out the camp

  • As part of its social services programme, UNRWA sponsoring one Women’s Program Centre in the camp.

UNRWA Microfinance Programme:

  • Through its Small-scale Enterprise Credit Product, UNRWA has extended loans with a combined value of US$ 92,610.00 to seven borrowers residing in the camp. Among the borrowers are the owners of a carpentry workshop, a medical laboratory, a biscuit factory, and a restaurant.

  • Through its Solidarity Group Lending Product, which makes credit available to women using a group-guarantee mechanism, the Agency has made loans totaling US$ 3,254,914.00 to 4,831 women from the area.

  • Through its Micro-enterprise Product, loans totaling US$ 4,100,322 to the owners of 4,180 micro-enterprises.

  • Through its Consumer lending product, the Agency has issued 105 loans valued at US$ 162,800.00

  • Through its Housing Loan Product the Microfinance Department has issued 53 loans valued at US$ 312,700.00.

UNRWA Health Programme:

  • The Agency’s health centre (HC) in the camp was reconstructed in the early sixties.

  • It provides outpatient, dental, maternal-child health, family planning clinics, Radiology and physiotherapy services, as well as a laboratory and pharmacy.

  • In 2008, an average of 40,302 consultations is held there each month.

  • This HC could not serve all refugee in Khan Younis and the north villages accordingly, the agency constructed anther HC in Ma’en Village. This HC is staffed by 31 staff members. In 2008, on average of 18,594 consultations were held in Ma’en HC each month. On 29 October 2008, anther new HC funded by Japan started operations in Khan Younis. This is staffed by 24 staff members operating on a morning shift. The Japanese HC provides outpatient, dental, maternal-child health, family planning clinics, as well as a laboratory and pharmacy. In the last two months of 2008, a total of 12,637 consultations were held there.

UNRWA Emergency Programme:

  • The number of beneficiaries’ coupons/families is 22,810. The number of individual beneficiaries is 112,508.

  • The number of staff members in Bani Suheila Distribution Center is 13 , and in Khan Younis Distribution center 13

  • The number of staff members in Khan Younis and Bani Suhaila Emergency Office is 16

  • The number of Job Creation Programme staff in JCP Office is 3

UNRWA Envirnmental Health

A sanitation Office staffed by 61 employees takes care of daily collection of refuse, cleaning of roads and alleys, transporting the refuse from the camp to municipal landfill sites, rodents and insects control, operating and monitoring one water well, monitoring water supply through chemical and bacteriological testing, and operating petrol and diesel water pumps to pump storm water from the flooded areas during the rainy season.

UNRWA Engineering & Construction Services Department

There are seven maintenance offices in the camp that offer maintenance works for all UNRWA installations.