The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNWRA) has run out of cash on hand to keep vital services going amid the worsening health emergency, UNRWA spokesperson Tamara Alrifai told a regular UN press briefing in Geneva on Tuesday.
The COVID-19 pandemic has sparked a health and socio-economic emergency across the occupied Palestinian territory, the UN agency for the region warned on Friday, noting a swell of coronavirus cases in recent weeks.
The Commissioner-General for the UN relief and works agency serving Palestine refugees, UNRWA, resigned on Wednesday, hours after the UN announced preliminary findings of an investigation into misconduct allegations.
A recap of Wednesday’s top stories: ‘Inhumane conditions’ in Syria’s Al Hol camp worsening; SDG progress risks going backward; food insecurity in South Sudan; Arab League petitioned to support Palestine refugees; and mining in Mongolia should boost development.
Unless more emergency funding is received by the end of this month, the UN relief agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), said on Tuesday that 46,000 children will be unable to start the new school year, along with major cuts to health and other basic services. That’s the warning coming from Gwyn Lewis, Director of UNRWA Operations in the West Bank, who was at UN Headquarters with her counterpart in Gaza, to outline the continuing funding crisis stemming from the United States decision to withdraw support last year.
UNRWA, the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees, says it will be able to open the schools it operates for the coming academic term. However, with the Agency still struggling to cope with the US decision to cut funding by $300 million, the prospect beyond September are still very uncertain. UNRWA spokesperson Chris Gunness spoke with UN News.
Facing an acute funding shortage, the United Nations agency for Palestine refugees is seeking more than $800 million for its emergency programmes for Syria and the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
