Humanitarian funding | Donations at record low

A total of $244 million was raised during 2019 for the humanitarian interventions, included in the oPt Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP). While this represents almost 70 per cent of the $351 million requested (the second highest rate in a decade), in absolute terms it marks the lowest amount raised during the 2010-2019 period for the oPt.

The sharp decrease in the funding requested between 2018 ($550 million) and 2020 ($348 million) does not reflect a reduction in humanitarian need, but rather an effort to prioritise in the face of decreasing funding trends (including the halt of US funding to UNRWA) and other constraints faced by humanitarian agencies.

Every second Palestinian in the oPt (some 2.5 million) has been identified as in need of humanitarian assistance and protection in 2020. Of these, 1.5 million will be targeted, a slight increase from the 1.4 million in 2019, but significantly less than the 1.9 million targeted in 2018. This means that even if all financial requirements are met, one million people in need will not be assisted.

Yearly average of $316m in humanitarian funding (HRP) (US$ million)

Abdallah’s story: across the Gaza Strip, child labour has become a commonly-used means to alleviate poverty, with serious negative consequences on the development of affected children. A project implemented since 2018 by a group of NGOs, with the support of the oPt Humanitarian Fund, has sought to reintegrate drop-out children back into school. Abdallah, 13, is one of the many success stories of this project. “I’m now back as a student in the seventh grade. I feel like I survived a nightmare… I want to get an education and to have a future. I want to be a normal child”, he told OCHA (read more).