UNRWA:

Palestinian Schools, Health Centers at Risk

Rasa - UNRWA warned that Palestinian schools and health centers are at risk if it is unable to plug a $185 million funding gap needed to keep operating until the end of the year.

News ID: 440729

Date: 28 September 2018 - 11:55

RNA - "Currently we have money in the bank ... will last I presume somewhere into ... mid October," Pierre Krahenbuhl, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, said in New York on Monday, where world leaders attended the annual UN General Assembly, Palinfo reported.

"But it's clear that we still need approximately $185 million to be able to ensure that all of our services, education system, health care, relief and social services and our emergency work in Syria and Gaza in particular can continue until the end of the year," Krahenbuhl added.

The World Bank laso on Tuesday warned that the economy in the Gaza Strip is "collapsing" mainly due to the 12-year blockade on the coastal enclave in addition to cuts in donor aid.

It said in a report that one in two people in Gaza suffers from poverty. The unemployment rate has reached more than 50%, and 70% of young people are jobless.

The report described the economy as being in "free fall", shrinking by 6% in the first quarter of 2018 and warned of "further deterioration since then".

It cited a number of factors affecting the besieged enclave other than the blockade, such as the Palestinian Authority's sanctions and the winding down of the US aid program.

The World Bank is due to present its report to a high-level meeting of a committee responsible for coordinating development assistance to the Palestinians on Wednesday in New York.

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