UNRWA on brink of collapse as donors pull life-saving funding

UNRWA director warns that the agency's operations could come to a halt by March at a time when Palestinians in Gaza are under the threat of starvation

Diana Estefanía Rubio

UNRWA on brink of collapse as donors pull life-saving funding

Al Majalla - London

last update on 07 Feb 2024

In January, the US and other major United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) donors suspended funding after Israel claimed a handful of its workers had been connected to the 7 October attack on Israel.

UNRWA is the leading aid provider for 5.6 million Palestinian refugees across the occupied West Bank, occupied East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. This comes amid a rapidly worsening humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza due to Israeli attacks on civilians since 7 October 2023.

The suspension of funding by donor states will impact UNRWA’s basic services, including education and healthcare, to Palestinian refugees, with one-third of them living in overcrowded and dilapidated refugee camps and higher levels of poverty.

Most importantly, the cutting of UNRWA funds will affect life-saving assistance for over two million civilians in Gaza facing the looming threat of starvation, over half of whom are children.

“The agency will no longer have funding as of the end of February, so that means our operations would come to a halt during March,” said Dorothee Klaus, UNRWA Director in Lebanon, describing the “severe impact” of fresh budget cuts.

The cutting of UNRWA funds will affect life-saving assistance for over two million civilians in Gaza facing the looming threat of starvation, over half of whom are children.

As each year passes without a solution to the refugee issue, the need for services increases due to population growth, leading some critics to label UNRWA's efforts as "unsustainable".

UNRWA's budget in 2022 was estimated at $1.17bn. UN member states, the European Union, and some private donations fund the agency. Over 90% of the agency's budget comes from government contributions, including one-third from the US.

UNRWA has struggled to cover its budgets for decades, as it depends on annual voluntary funding from states. This has made operations vulnerable to donor fatigue, shifting donor priorities and competition from other regional and international humanitarian crises.

As a result, UNRWA must expend a great deal of effort to raise funds. Most donors have funded UNRWA because it is seen as helpful in upholding regional stability and because they have traditionally financed it.

The agency will most likely face demands for further reforms, tighter budgets, and operating in a crisis mode affecting employees and refugees. Some observers suggest that regional destabilisation could occur if UNRWA services are cut.

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