Germany signs EUR 28 million in project funding to support UNRWA for participatory camp improvement and digitalization in health and education

03 August 2023
UNRWA Director of External Relations Tamara Alrifai (centre) is joined by Rahel Kroeker (left) and Dilara Fuchs (right) of KfW for the signing of three agreements totaling EUR 28 million in Amman on 20 July 2023. © 2023 UNRWA Photo by Shafiq Fahd

AMMAN

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the Government of Germany, through KfW Development Bank, signed three agreements in support of Palestine Refugees totaling EUR 28 million.

“The German government will continue to support Palestine Refugees throughout the region. The new agreements will make a substantial contribution to improving living conditions in Palestine Refugee camps. They will enable UNRWA to invest in camp infrastructure and modernize its service provision system. This will make UNRWA’s services more efficient and accessible for Palestine Refugees,” said Oliver Owcza, Head of the Representative Office of the Federal Republic of Germany in Ramallah.  

Two of the new agreements, totaling EUR 16 million, will support the continuation of the ongoing Regional Programme for the Improvement of the Living Conditions of Palestine Refugees in Camps (REPAC). This REPAC funding will improve infrastructure in Palestine Refugee camps in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, supporting the construction, extension and rehabilitation of social, economic and environmental infrastructure.

The third agreement signed is to provide EUR 12 million towards a second phase of the current Digital Transformation in Health and Education programme. This innovative project focuses on digitalizing key elements of UNRWA’s Health and Education services across Jordan, Gaza Strip, West Bank and Lebanon.

Tamara Alrifai, the UNRWA Director of External Relations and Communications, said, “I am very grateful to Germany for these new agreements that will help improve the living conditions of Palestine Refugees across the region and will allow UNRWA to make crucial infrastructure investments. In addition, the new phase of the digitalization programme will help UNRWA implement its digital transformation strategy in the areas of health and education.” 

 

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Notes to Editors:

  • The objective of the REPAC programme is to continue to improve the living conditions of people affected by continued crises in and close to Palestine Refugee camps in the region. Members of the camp community are involved in the identification of issues to address through the programme as part of the participatory camp improvement process. Agreements signed:
    • EUR 15 million will improve infrastructure in Burj Barajneh, Rashidieh and Beddawi camps in Lebanon, as well as in Gaza City and Deir El-Balah camp in the Gaza Strip.
    • EUR 1 million top-up to the ongoing phase of the programme will enable the continued improvement in street infrastructure and create recreational and green areas in Khan Younis camp in Gaza.
  • The second phase of the Digital Transformation in Health and Education programme will focus on the continued implementation and expansion of the new UNRWA health software (EMR). The project also supports hardware and infrastructure improvements of selected UNRWA schools in Lebanon and the West Bank, as well as software investments in the UNRWA Education Programme’s digital ecosystem.
  • REPAC and the Digital Transformation in Health and Education programme are financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and delivered through its implementing partner KfW Development Bank.
  • In 2022, the Government of Germany was the Agency’s second largest donor, having contributed EUR 190 million to the Agency’s Programme Budget, Emergency Appeals, the oPt Humanitarian Early Recovery Appeal and different projects. Germany has been a member of the UNRWA Advisory Commission since 2005.
Background Information: 

UNRWA is the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. The United Nations General Assembly established UNRWA in 1949 with a mandate to provide humanitarian assistance and protection to registered Palestine refugees in the Agency’s area of operations pending a just and lasting solution to their plight. UNRWA operates in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, The Gaza Strip, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.Tens of thousands of Palestine refugees who lost their homes and livelihoods due to the 1948 conflict continue to be displaced and in need of support, nearly 75 years on. UNRWA helps Palestine Refugees achieve their full potential in human development through quality services it provides in education, health care, relief and social services, protection, camp infrastructure and improvement, microfinance, and emergency assistance. UNRWA is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions.

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For more information, please contact:

Juliette Touma
UNRWA Director of Communications
Mobile: 
+962-79-867-4628 (on whatsapp)
Secondary mobile: 
+970-56-294-0311
Office: 
+972 54240-2753
Tamara Alrifai
UNRWA Spokesperson/ Director of External Relations & Communications
Mobile: 
+962 (0)79 090 0140