{"id":12257,"date":"2023-01-24T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-01-24T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/palestinian-refugees-face-hitting-rock-bottom-warns-unrwa-in-1-6-billion-appeal\/"},"modified":"2023-01-24T12:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-01-24T12:00:00","slug":"palestinian-refugees-face-hitting-rock-bottom-warns-unrwa-in-1-6-billion-appeal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gulftimes.ae\/?p=12257","title":{"rendered":"Palestinian refugees face hitting \u2018rock bottom\u2019, warns UNRWA in $1.6 billion appeal"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Head of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, told journalists in Geneva that competing global crises, and skyrocketing levels of poverty and unemployment among Palestine refugees, have put immense strain on them &#8211; and the agency &#8211; which started the year some $70 million in arrears.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOn the one hand we are asked to deliver public-like services to one of the most under-privileged communities in the region. We obviously are a UN agency (and) abide by UN values, but in reality, we are funded like an NGO, meaning that we depend on voluntary funding from Member States.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Most Palestine refugees now live below the poverty-line and many depend on humanitarian assistance, including cash and food, from UNRWA.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Eyewitness<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>\u201cI thought that they had reached rock bottom some time ago, but I discover each time that this misery people are confronted with is getting worse and worse,\u201d the UNRWA Commissioner-General said, of his recent visit to meet Palestinian refugees in Syria. \u201cI witnessed first-hand indescribable suffering and despair.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The desperate situation of Syria\u2019s Palestine refugees is mirrored in Gaza and Lebanon &#8211; where more than nine in 10 live below the poverty-line &#8211; and in Gaza. \u201cMany told me that all they asked for was a life of dignity, that\u2019s not much to ask for,\u201d the Commissioner-General explained.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Totally dependent<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>\u201cWe have seen increased poverty in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon \u2026there has been a stiff increase compared to previous assessments, which means again, we are the only lifeline for this community. The same happened in Gaza; in Gaza, we have more than one million people who are also dependent on our food assistance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Highlighting the vast scope of UNRWA\u2019s work, Mr. Lazzarini explained that the agency provided services, much as a small government would. \u201cWe act in reality as a Minister of Education, a Minister of Primary Health, a Minister of Municipalities, a Ministry of Social Services for this extraordinarily vulnerable group of Palestinian refugees,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are also providing emergency humanitarian assistance and hence my appeal this morning for a total of $1.6 billion.\u201d<\/p>\n<div data-quickedit-entity-id=\"media\/97757\" class=\"context-un_news_full_width_credit_caption type-entermedia_image media media--type-entermedia-image media--view-mode-un-news-full-width-credit-caption\">\n<div class=\"field field--name-thumbnail field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"field field--name-field-authors field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items\">\n<p> \u00a9UNRWA Photo\/Mohamed Hinnawi<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>In response to a renewed escalation of violence, a Palestine refugee family find refuge at the UNRWA Beit Lahiya Preparatory Girls\u2019 School in northern Gaza.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2><strong>Austerity package <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Amid chronic funding shortfalls, UNRWA has expanded e-health access and telemedicine and launched a digital learning platform. \u201cIn the last three years, we had a \u2018zero growth\u2019 budget, which stayed at the same level,\u201d Mr. Lazzarini said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cObviously, it didn\u2019t meet all our needs, and that forced the agency to put in place austerity measures. And austerity comes at a cost; today, for instance, we regularly have up to 50 children per teacher attending class.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Similarly tough conditions apply in healthcare provided by UNRWA, which provided seven million medical consultations in 2022. \u201cOn average, the doctor spent no more than three minutes with each patient, so it\u2019s a bit quick, too,\u201d the Commissioner-General said.<\/p>\n<p>UNRWA\u2019s 2023 appeal for $1.6 billion includes $848 million for core services including health, education, relief, social services and protection. Another $781.6 million is required for emergency operations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/news.un.org\/feed\/view\/en\/story\/2023\/01\/1132777\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Head of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, told journalists in Geneva that competing global crises, and skyrocketing levels&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12257","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-middle-east"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.0 (Yoast SEO v28.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Palestinian refugees face hitting \u2018rock bottom\u2019, warns UNRWA in $1.6 billion appeal - 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