The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) welcomes the generous contribution of EUR 2 million from the Government of France in support of the Agency's 2022 Emergency Food Assistance Programme in Gaza.
After 16 years of a land, air and sea blockade, life in Gaza has become increasingly dire. The situation has been compounded by repeated cycles of hostilities, heightened tensions and violence, political instability and the COVID-19 pandemic. Together, these factors have destabilized the lives of individuals and communities and have further increased the hardships they are facing. Gaza is on 'life support' with 80 per cent of the population dependent on humanitarian assistance. Currently, three out of four Gazans rely on emergency food assistance - and despite this support, the rate of food insecurity is rising. With exceptionally high poverty and unemployment rates, an already fragile humanitarian situation threatens to deteriorate further.
Against this background, UNRWA provided a critical humanitarian lifeline for Palestine refugees in Gaza, prioritizing food assistance to 1.14 million people. This French contribution assisted in co-funding food commodities and food baskets benefiting around 69,000 food-insecure Palestine refugees in the during 2022 food distribution rounds at a crucial time of unprecedented need.
"There is no doubt that the lives of Palestine refugees in Gaza deteriorate day after day. Sixteen years of blockade have devastated the economy. Most families in Gaza have exhausted all their financial coping mechanisms and are struggling to 'put bread on the table'. Over 40 per cent of Gazans are now severely food-insecure which means that they are regularly going a day without food. The assistance of France is vital for ensuring families in Gaza can survive," says Thomas White, Director of UNRWA Affairs in Gaza.
France has been a dedicated and reliable supporter and partner to UNRWA for 70 years. In addition to supporting Gaza, France also provided EUR 2 million in support of the Agency's Emergency Appeal in 2022 to provide food assistance to Palestine refugees in Syria and Lebanon. In 2022, the Government of France increased its contribution to the UNRWA Programme Budget to EUR 23 million, supporting the education of more than half a million Palestine refugee children, health care for nearly two million refugees, and cash assistance to nearly 400,000 of the most vulnerable. This is on top of the multi-year support provided by the French Development Agency (AFD) to the UNRWA WAHET project in Lebanon of EUR 21 million in 2019.
