The northern entrance of the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp, in Southern Lebanon. (Credit: Mountasser Abdallah)
BEIRUT — The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) appealed Wednesday for $15,467,309 to address Ain al-Hilweh's needs after recent violent clashes within the camp.
From late July to the beginning of August, days-long clashes between the Fatah Movement and Islamist factions occurred inside Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp just outside adjacent Saida, killing 13 people. A cease-fire was ultimately agreed upon.
UNRWA announced that, as part of its response, it will give $1,200 to 250 families to cover urgent shelter needs. The agency added that "this number may increase pending full-scale damage assessments."
Aside from the urgent shelter funds that will be given to families, UNRWA announced that it needs $1,650,000 for access to education; $666,000 for rehabilitation of basic public infrastructure; $166,500 for rehabilitation of its installations, including a health center, the Camp Community Service Office and the Relief and Social Service Office; $388,500 for rubble and debris removal; $888,000 for risk awareness, safety and security; $11,138,879 cash assistance for conflict-affected Palestinian refugees; and $236,430 for program management, support and coordination.
"We underscore for all our partners that the activities presented in this appeal can only be implemented if the Agency’s Programme Budget receives contributions in the amount required to sustain staffing and infrastructure essential to the delivery of health, education, relief, environmental health and protection services," stated UNRWA.
Ain al-Hilweh hosts around 80,000 of the country's 250,000 Palestinian refugees.
UNRWA faces a chronic budget deficit. In June, they launched an urgent appeal to raise $300 million to continue providing services to almost six million people by the end of the year.
Some 5.9 million Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA. In addition to schools and clinics, the agency provides food aid to over 1.7 million Palestinians, mostly in the Gaza Strip.
In January, the agency launched an appeal for $1.6 billion for 2023, but donors only pledged half that amount.