credit:  Gary Raynaldo / Members of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Gwen Lewis, left,  Peter Mulrean (center), director of UNRWA. and (right) Matthias Schmale, director of UNRWA operations in Gaza, at press conference UN world headquarters June 10, 2019.

By Gary Raynaldo      DIPLOMATIC  TIMES

UNITED NATIONS   – The United States ceased funding last year the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) after decades of being the Agency’s single largest donor and strong partner. The U.S. move has plunged the UNRWA,  which provides humanitarian and human development services to the refugees of Palestine in the Gaza strip,  into  a crisis of uncertainty regarding its future.  About 95 percent of Gaza’s 1.9 million population lives without access to clean water,  more than half of the  population is unemployed, suffering constant power outages with limit access to medical care, schools, and clean water. Some 80 percent of the Gaza refugees are dependent on food provided by UNRWA.  According to Matthias Schmale, director of UNRWA,  $80 Million of UNRWA’s $1.2-Billion annual budget goes to food aid in Gaza.  Schmale warned that 630,000 refugees who live in abject poverty (on $1.74 a day), and 400,000 who live in absolute poverty (on $3.87 a day) will begin to face shortages if UN member states fail to step up to provide the $60 million still needed to provide for Gaza food relief for the rest of this year.

“UNRA remains in financial crisis since the United States, for decades its largest single donor, suddenly ceased to fund the agency in early 2018. With this massive budget cut of $360 Million per year, UNRWA is managing as best we can to provide vital life-saving services to millions of refugees. In the absence of an enduring, just solution, there is no other alternative for these services in Gaza.”

-Matthias Schmale, director of UNRWA. 

Diplomatic Times Video /  (UNRWA) Gwen Lewis, director of operations speaks on funding crisis at UN world headquarters press conference  June 10, 2019

Matthais Schmale explained at the press conference at UN headquarters New York that the main challenge to assisting Gaza refugees is the current state of War, due to military escalation in last month in which 25 persons were killed on the Gaza side, and 5 on the Israel side. “Goza is constantly on edge, “ Schmale said.  Gwen Lewis, UNRWA director of Operations, echoed Schmale’s sentiment regarding the military escalation. “We have 850,000 Palestinian refugees. The biggest challenge is the occupation of the West Bank where day-to-day life is very difficult,” she said.  However, Lewis said there are some “positives in the dire situation.”  She noted that in schools, “we can provide education. There is a huge emphasis on supporting children,  providing a safe environment for children.” Schmale added that “education is the most powerful weapon to fight poverty.”    However, there have been critical reports in many quarters that the Gaza schools are regarded as “schools for terrorism” , and an obstacle for peace.  To that Schmale responded: “How is educating thousands of children a problem for some people?”

Diplomatic Times Video /   Peter Mulrean (center), director of UNRWA speaks on the  financial crisis facing the Agency after the United States ceased funding last year