{"id":285177,"date":"2023-01-24T14:52:13","date_gmt":"2023-01-24T19:52:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/?post_type=document&p=285177"},"modified":"2023-01-24T14:52:13","modified_gmt":"2023-01-24T19:52:13","slug":"unrwa-appeals-for-us-1-6-billion-for-health-education-and-other-basic-services-press-release","status":"publish","type":"document","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/unispal\/document\/unrwa-appeals-for-us-1-6-billion-for-health-education-and-other-basic-services-press-release\/","title":{"rendered":"UNRWA Appeals for US$ 1.6 Billion for Health, Education and Other Basic Services – Press Release"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Arabic: \u0627\u0644\u0639\u0631\u0628\u064a\u0629<\/a><\/p>\n

Download summary<\/span>\u00a0and multimedia\u00a0<\/span>material\u00a0<\/span>here<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Funds crucial to respond to\u00a0growing needs of Palestine Refugees in a region in\u00a0turmoil<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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24 January 2023<\/span><\/div>\n
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GENEVA<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (<\/span>UNRWA<\/span><\/span><\/a>) appealed today for\u00a0<\/span>US$<\/span>\u00a01.6 billion for\u00a0<\/span>programmes<\/span>\u00a0and operations in 2023.\u202f\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u202f\u201cAcross all\u00a0<\/span>the\u00a0<\/span>area of operation<\/span>s<\/span>, UNRWA continues to play an indispensable role in the lives of millions of Palestine refugees. We work to maintain the delivery of basic services in an incredibly difficult financial and political context,\u201d said UNRWA Commissioner-General Phillippe Lazzarini. \u201cPalestine refugees \u2013 one of the most underprivileged communities in the region<\/span>–<\/span>\u00a0face unprecedented challenges and increasingly rely on UNRWA for basic services and in some cases the sheer survival.<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Compounding challenges over the last year including underfunding, competing global crises, inflation, disruption in the supply chain, geopolitical dynamics and skyrocketing levels of poverty and unemployment among Palestine refugees have put immense strain on UNRWA. Most Palestine refugees now live below the poverty line, many depend on humanitarian assistance, including cash and food, from UNRWA.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cI have just come back from Syria where I witnessed firsthand indescribable suffering and despair.<\/span>\u00a0The situation of Palestine Refugees there is sadly mirrored in other places like Lebanon and Gaza where Palestine refugees are hitting rock bottom. Many told me that all they asked for was a life of dignity, that\u2019s not much to ask for,<\/span>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0continued the Commissioner<\/span>–<\/span>General<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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As the only UN\u00a0<\/span>agency<\/span>\u00a0that provides\u00a0<\/span>public<\/span>–<\/span>sector<\/span>–<\/span>like\u00a0<\/span>services directly, UNRWA is\u00a0<\/span><\/span>globally recognized<\/span><\/a>\u00a0for cost-effectiveness, efficiency, and quality. UNRWA runs a full<\/span>–<\/span>fledge<\/span>d<\/span>\u00a0education system with over 700 schools providing education to more than half a million children in the region. Its workforce of nearly 30,000 -mostly Palestine Refugees- provide<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0health, sanitation,\u00a0<\/span>education<\/span>\u00a0and social services including food and cash assistance.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\u201cFor more than 70 years, UNRWA has been delivering and responding to the needs of Palestine Refugees against all odds, shouldering a huge responsibility until a\u00a0<\/span>just and<\/span>\u00a0lasting political solution is found.<\/span>\u00a0We cannot and should not be always scrambling to bring in funds to cover our contribution to human rights and stability. I call for a more sustainable model of funding to this critical Agency under which UNRWA has a predictable, long term and regular source of funding. Without it, we will simply not be able to deliver and with that the lives of Palestine Refugees will hang by a thread and millions of people in the region and beyond will be impacted<\/span>,<\/span>\u201d\u00a0<\/span>says\u00a0<\/span>Commissioner<\/span>–<\/span>Genera<\/span>l Lazzarini.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Notes to Editors:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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