OPT Humanitarian Fund Fills Critical Gap for 140,000 of the Most Vulnerable Palestinians, Left by Cut in UNRWA Funding

Posted on 20 February 2018

Today, the Humanitarian Fund for the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt HF) released approximately US $900,000 for health and food support over the next six months to around 140,000 Palestinians, almost half of them children, in dozens of West Bank communities, including in East Jerusalem.

“This allocation provides support to some of the most vulnerable Palestinian residents in the West Bank, Bedouin and herders, the elderly, persons with disability, women and children.” said the acting Humanitarian Coordinator, Roberto Valent.

Through this grant, the oPt HF will support the deployment of six medical teams in 39 communities, mainly in Area C, where they will provide primary health care in mobile clinics. The funds will also cover the distribution of food to Bedouin and herding communities assessed as vulnerable to food insecurity. These communities are also at risk of forcible transfer. The project will be implemented by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). The food component will be carried out jointly with the World Food Programme.

needed aid,” said Mr. Valent “we avoid an abrupt halt in services to vulnerable Palestinians, which would likely occur due to the unprecedented budget crisis facing UNRWA.” UNRWA’s Emergency Appeal for the oPt currently faces a US $123 million deficit.

The oPt HF is an emergency pooled fund supported by Belgium, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Malta, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey; and is managed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on behalf of the Humanitarian Coordinator to support the delivery of strategic humanitarian response identified under Humanitarian Response Plan while retaining the flexibility to allocate funds to unforeseen events or special requirements.