The head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has warned that the organization is in grave danger and on the verge of collapsing.
Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of the UNRWA, warned that, without more financing, the agency will be unable to provide the services it offers to millions of Palestinian refugees.
Lazzarini expressed that the organization’s funding has not increased in nearly a decade.
On Monday, Lazzarini traveled to Qatar for a high-level conference aimed at increasing financial support for UNRWA. The UN agency provides education, healthcare, and other essential services to the Middle East’s 5.7 million registered Palestinian refugees.
The objective of the organization is to assist Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, as well as the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza Strip.
According to Lazzarini, refugees have turned to UNRWA as their sole lifeline, as a result of the many problems in the region.
Describing the climate in some refugee camps as “boiling over,” Lazzarini stated that “UNRWA is unable to match their expectations because of the financial crisis, and as a result, there is more pain, despair, and rage.”
