The International Child Health Group (ICHG) of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health urgently appeals to the UK and other donor governments to immediately reinstate funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The loss of millions of dollars in aid will be calamitous for the health and well-being of children in this conflict. We also reiterate our call for an immediate ceasefire, release of hostages, and unhindered access for humanitarian aid, and we call for all orders of the International Court of Justice to be respected in full.
At the time of writing more than 27,000 people, including over 10,000 children, are reported by the United Nations to have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza. This is since the Hamas attack on 7th October in Israel, in which 1140 people, including 33 children were killed and many more taken hostage. An estimated 1.7 million people have been displaced from their homes, 17,000 children are unaccompanied or separated from their parents, an average of 10 children per day have lost one or both of their legs, and more than a million people are in urgent need of mental health and psychosocial support. There are additional reports of an escalation of extrajudicial killings and arbitrary arrests of children in the West Bank.
It is in this dire context that the UK government alongside USA, France, Germany, Canada, The Netherlands, Finland, Italy, Switzerland and Australia have chosen to suspend funding to UNRWA, the largest humanitarian agency in Gaza. Before this conflict, UNRWA provided healthcare in Gaza and the West Bank directly through primary health care facilities and by reimbursing costs for inpatient care by other providers, covering a broad range of services essential to child health, such as maternity care, primary health care, vaccination, psychosocial support and physical rehabilitation. The invasion of Gaza has severely compromised UNRWA capacity. It continues to provide water and sanitation, food distributions and primary care through the remaining health facilities, including vaccinating children against epidemic-prone diseases. Whilst other UNRWA installations are being used as shelters for displaced people. Despite this, as humanitarian access remains extremely constrained and with Gazan’s facing catastrophic shortages of food and water alongside escalating military assault with no possibility of escape, UNRWA services are critical for the survival of Palestinian children. The agency reports that without funding renewal, it could run out of resources by the end of February.
While acknowledging the need for accountability for the October 7th attack and investigation of allegations against UNRWA staff, we share the urgent concerns of the UN Child Rights Committee and Inter-Agency Standing Committee, as well as the outrage of aid organisations operating in Gaza, about the loss of UNRWA funding at this crucial moment.
Funding for humanitarian assistance must be based solely on evidence of need and free of political motivations. The needs of Palestinian children could not be greater or more clear. UNRWA is currently the only aid organisation capable of large-scale provision of healthcare and education in Gaza and the West Bank. There is no credible alternative.
We therefore appeal to the UK government and other donor countries in the strongest terms to immediately reinstate funding for UNRWA and to lead donor countries in the protection of the life and rights of children in this conflict.