UNRWA works daily to provide essential services in the Gaza Strip, including the distribution of flour. Private donations enable the UN to support the people of war-torn Gaza Humanitarian Aid
A growing number of people around the world, from celebrities to civil society, are showing unprecedented support for UNRWA, the UN agency that provides aid to the two million Palestinians trapped in war-torn Gaza, the UN said on the International Day of Charity, which is marked annually on September 5.
Since October last year, the UN Relief and Aid Agency for Palestine Refugees has raised nearly $150 million from charities, NGOs, corporations and individuals. Some donors have even doubled or tripled their donations, said Karim Amer, UNRWA’s director of partnerships.
“Donations matter, no matter the size,” he said. “The support affects tens of thousands of families suffering from loss of loved ones, displacement, trauma, anxiety and fear.”
Funding Crisis
For the cash-strapped agency, such support is now critical. UNRWA has lost $450 million after 16 donor countries suspended funding. This comes on the heels of accusations by the Israeli government that individual agency employees were involved in the Hamas-led attacks in southern Israel on October 7 last year.
The UN immediately launched an investigation, which was completed in August of this year. Investigators concluded that nine UNRWA staff members may have been directly or indirectly involved in the attack. UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini decided to terminate their contracts.
Since then, all donors except the United States have resumed funding.
Invaluable support
Under the mandate given to UNRWA by the UN General Assembly in 1949, the agency provides services to Palestine refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.
Before the Gaza War, UNRWA provided education to half a million children and adolescents and primary health care to more than two million Palestinians.
Most of the funds donated from private sources are used to deliver much-needed food, water, medicine and temporary shelter to the people of the sector.
Public Reaction
UNRWA is currently coordinating a polio vaccination campaign in Gaza, in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The campaign was launched after a 10-month-old boy was diagnosed with polio.
Public support is vital for UNRWA staff on the ground, who are trying to help refugees while they themselves are suffering from the effects of the conflict and living in displacement camps.
“Public support and solidarity give our colleagues in Gaza the strength to continue working and delivering aid,” said Karim Amer.
Money is coming from new donors in the United States, Britain, the United Arab Emirates, Canada, Germany, the Philippines, India, parts of Africa and elsewhere, he said. Schools, student groups, consulting companies, foundations and restaurants are also looking to contribute.
Supporting Musicians
Musicians are releasing songs in support of Palestine and donating all proceeds from streaming to UNRWA.
Mexican singer Mariana released the song From Palestine to Mexico in April. Canadian violinist Jessica Moss premiered her song For UNRWA at a concert in Berlin in February.
Four-time Grammy Award-winning American rapper Macklemore is donating all proceeds from the broadcast of his hit Hind’s Hall, which went viral on social media after its release in early May, to UNRWA. The song calls for attention to protests around the world demanding an end to the war in Gaza.
A Critical Moment
In its flash appeal for the period April to December, UNRWA requested $1.21 billion to meet the critical humanitarian needs of 1.7 million of the most vulnerable refugees and internally displaced people in the Gaza Strip, as well as more than 200,000 people in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
The governments of 118 countries, including all 15 members of the Security Council, endorsed the Joint Pledge Initiative for UNRWA at a pledging conference for the agency in July.
“This comes at a critical time, when UNRWA is under unprecedented attack and systematic attempts to eliminate it, – said the agency’s Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini. – There is no alternative to UNRWA.”