UN agency for Palestinian refugees has urgent budget crisis

The UN agency helping Palestinian refugees is facing an 'existential' budget crisis and appealing for urgent funding of US$120 million to keep essential education, healthcare and other services running, the agency's chief said Friday.

"We keep struggling, running after cash," Philippe Lazzarini told a small group of reporters.

"The financial situation is a real existential threat on the organization, and we should not underestimate this because it might force the organization to decrease services," he added, and if that happens "we risk to collapse very quickly."

At stake is the agency's ability to keep 550,000 children in school, provide health care for thousands, and pay the salaries for its 28,000 staffers in November and December, Lazzarini explained.

The UN Relief and Works Agency known as UNRWA was established to provide education, health care, food and other services to the 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were forced from their homes during the war surrounding Israel's establishment in 1948.