UNRWA: Gaza' Essential Workforce Amid Ongoing Humanitarian Crisis (Photo on X UNRWA)
On April 22, the United Nations (UN) decided to review the impact of its agency in Gaza, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The Secretary General appointed Ian Martin from the United Kingdom as head of the strategic assessment where he is supposed to review UNRWA’s impact in the strip given the political, financial and security factors.
Even though Israel has blocked all international humanitarian aid to Gaza from March 2, the Palestinian staff in UNRWA continue to be a vital component in delivering assistance in the war-ravaged territory. Israel has banned the UN agency and blocked all contacts and cooperation with its operations, accusing it of having links with Hamas in November last year.
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What Is UNRWA?
A UN agency dedicated exclusively to the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, was established by the United Nations General Assembly on December 8 1949, following the 1948 Arab–Israeli War that eventually led to the announcement of the independence of the state of Israel, while more than 700,000 Palestinians were displaced. The agency officially began operations on May 1, 1950, and today operates across the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.
From 700,00 refugees in 1950, UNRWA is currently caring for some 5.9 million Palestinians who have been displaced to different regions. In other words, it has contributed to the welfare and human development of four generations of Palestinian refugees. As the Palestinian question remains unresolved, the General Assembly has constantly renewed UNRWA’s mandate, most recently extending it until 30 June 2026.
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UNRWA In Gaza – The Backbone Of Humanitarian Response
At a time when the entire population of Gaza depends on humanitarian aid, UNRWA remains irreplaceable. It constitutes more than half of the total emergency response in Gaza today. Amidst the ongoing conflict that has displaced about 90 percent of the population, the agency has provided food to 1.9 million people facing extreme hunger. UNRWA has also converted over 100 of its facilities into emergency shelters, housing nearly 400,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) by December 2024.
The agency’s health services cover approximately 63 percent of all primary health consultations in Gaza, reaching about 1.6 million people, with an average of 16,000 consultations per day. Mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) activities have reached 730,000 displaced persons, including over 520,000 children. UNRWA is also a critical player in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services, providing more than 600,000 people with clean water from its wells, producing about 80 million liters every month. In addition, the agency collected around 10,000 tons of solid waste from camps and emergency shelters in October alone.
In conclusion, no other organisation can replace the scale and depth of UNRWA’s humanitarian response in Gaza in the current scenario.
(This Story Is Part Of Timeline Internship Project)
