PRESS RELEASE

Lack of funds forces UNRWA to suspend cash assistance for repairs to damaged
and destroyed homes in Gaza

27 January 2015
Gaza

UNRWA has been forced to suspend its cash assistance programme in Gaza to
tens of thousands of people for repairs to damaged and destroyed homes and
for rental subsidies to the homeless. Over 96,000 Palestine refugee family
homes were damaged or destroyed during last summer’s conflict and US$ 720
million is required to address this need. To date, UNRWA has received only
US$ 135 million in pledges, leaving a shortfall of US$ 585 million. While
some funds remain available to begin the reconstruction of totally destroyed
homes, UNRWA has exhausted all funding to support repairs and rental
subsidies.

“UNRWA in Gaza has so far provided over US$ 77 million to 66,000 Palestine
refugee families to repair their homes or find a temporary alternative,”
said UNRWA Director in Gaza Robert Turner. “This is a tremendous
achievement; it is also wholly insufficient. It is easy to look at these
numbers and lose sight of the fact that we are talking about thousands of
families who continue to suffer through this cold winter with inadequate
shelter. People are literally sleeping amongst the rubble; children have
died of hypothermia. US$ 5.4 billion was pledged at the Cairo conference
last October and virtually none of it has reached Gaza. This is distressing
and unacceptable.

“It is unclear why this funding has not been forthcoming,” added Mr. Turner.
“But UNRWA has been a stabilizing factor in a very challenging political and
security context and if we cannot continue the programme, it will have grave
consequences for affected communities in Gaza. People are desperate and the
international community cannot even provide the bare minimum – for example
a repaired home in winter – let alone a lifting of the blockade, access to
markets or freedom of movement. We’ve said before that quiet will not last,
and now the quiet is at risk.”

UNRWA urgently requires US$ 100 million in the first quarter of this year to
allow families with minor damage to repair their homes and to provide
ongoing rental subsidies, including to the thousands of families who left
UNRWA-run collective centers and found alternative rental accommodation.
UNRWA is concerned that if it cannot continue to provide rental subsidies,
large numbers may return to the collective centers, where almost 12,000
displaced Palestinians continue to seek shelter.

– Ends –

Background information

UNRWA is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949
and is mandated to provide assistance and protection to a population of some
five million registered Palestine refugees. Its mission is to help Palestine
refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank and the Gaza Strip to achieve
their full potential in human development, pending a just solution to their
plight. UNRWA’s services encompass education, health care, relief and social
services, camp infrastructure and improvement, and microfinance.

Financial support to UNRWA has not kept pace with an increased demand for
services caused by growing numbers of registered refugees, expanding need,
and deepening poverty. As a result, the Agency's General Fund (GF),
supporting UNRWA’s core activities and 97 per cent reliant on voluntary
contributions, has begun each year with a large projected deficit. Currently
the deficit stands at US$ 81 million.

For more information, please contact:

Christopher Gunness
UNRWA Spokesperson
Mobile: +972 (0)54 240 2659
Office: +972 (0)2 589 0267
c.gunness@unrwa.org

Sami Mshasha
UNRWA Arabic Spokesperson
Mobile: +972 (0)54 216 8295
Office: +972 (0)2 589 0724
s.mshasha@unrwa.org