UNRWA Says US Move To Resume Funding Vital, But Not Enough To Cover All Needs

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th June, 2021) The decision of the administration of US President Joe Biden to resume funding of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is important, but still insufficient to cover all the organization's needs, UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini told Sputnik.

In 2018, the United States - under President Donald Trump - stopped financing UNRWA, which, according to Lazzarini, nearly brought the organization "to the edge of a total financial collapse." By 2020, the under-funding was so severe that UNRWA was afraid it would not be able to deliver its services to Palestinian refugees in the region, the agency's chief noted.

In April, the Biden administration announced its return to the partnership with UNRWA and resumption of financing.

"The return of the US has an important financial support, but has not been enough yet to bring UNRWA out of the wood," Lazzarini stated.

According to him, UNRWA spends on its core services in education and healthcare a minimum of $800 million, not counting emergency appeals due to the Syrian crisis and the recent armed conflict in Gaza. This financial "backbone" goes to support the 28,000 of the organization's staff serving in the region, Lazzarini said.

Under his estimate, the costs of the core services and emergency appeals will amount to $1.3 billion a year.

UNRWA was established in 1949 to provide assistance to approximately 5.7 million Palestine refugees registered by the agency across several countries and territories in the region. The organization's humanitarian activities cover such areas, as education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, protection and microfinance.