Published : 25-06-2022
Association 302 for Defense of Refugees Rights has expressed concern over UNRWA’s funding shortage after its Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said the Agency is forced to operate with a funding gap of around US$ 100m.
In his opening statement to the session of the Advisory Commission on UNRWA in Beirut, Lebanon, on June 14, 2022, Lazzarini said despite immense outreach and fundraising efforts, the resources available to UNRWA have stagnated. Meanwhile the needs of Palestine refugees and cost of operations keep increasing.
Speaking to journalists following a donor meeting in New York, Lazzarini also stated that more than a $100 million shortfall in funding for 2022 is almost the same shortfall that UNRWA has faced every year for the past decade.
During the meeting, reports conveyed that donors pledged about $160 million for UNRWA. However, it still needs over $100 million to support education for more than half a million children, offer primary healthcare for close to two million people, and provide emergency cash assistance to the poorest refugees.
Association 302 said the fact that UNRWA has taken a debt of 17$ million to pay salaries is a dangerous indication that the Agency’s services will never be the same.
Association 302 also said it is alarmed by Lazzarini’s statement that “I do not know if we will get the necessary cash to allow us to pay the salaries after the month of September.”
The solution to UNRWA’s chronic financial problem, according to Association 302, requires not only political will but also financial support to match the agency’s work on behalf of Palestinian refugees.
Association 302 for Defense of Refugees Rights has expressed concern over UNRWA’s funding shortage after its Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said the Agency is forced to operate with a funding gap of around US$ 100m.
In his opening statement to the session of the Advisory Commission on UNRWA in Beirut, Lebanon, on June 14, 2022, Lazzarini said despite immense outreach and fundraising efforts, the resources available to UNRWA have stagnated. Meanwhile the needs of Palestine refugees and cost of operations keep increasing.
Speaking to journalists following a donor meeting in New York, Lazzarini also stated that more than a $100 million shortfall in funding for 2022 is almost the same shortfall that UNRWA has faced every year for the past decade.
During the meeting, reports conveyed that donors pledged about $160 million for UNRWA. However, it still needs over $100 million to support education for more than half a million children, offer primary healthcare for close to two million people, and provide emergency cash assistance to the poorest refugees.
Association 302 said the fact that UNRWA has taken a debt of 17$ million to pay salaries is a dangerous indication that the Agency’s services will never be the same.
Association 302 also said it is alarmed by Lazzarini’s statement that “I do not know if we will get the necessary cash to allow us to pay the salaries after the month of September.”
The solution to UNRWA’s chronic financial problem, according to Association 302, requires not only political will but also financial support to match the agency’s work on behalf of Palestinian refugees.
