RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories: Global powers will gather in Rome Thursday to discuss the future of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, which faces an unprecedented crisis after the US froze hundreds of millions of dollars in funding.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) only has enough funds to keep schools and medical services open until May, its commissioner general Pierre Krahenbuhl told AFP.
US President Donald Trump’s administration has so far committed only $60 million to the agency this year, down from $360 million in 2017.
Trump continues to pressure the Palestinians to end their boycott of his administration sparked by his December recognition of the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
A major funding drive launched by UNRWA after the US freeze has raised little new money and diplomats are not optimistic about getting major pledges in the Italian capital.
UN officials want European countries to step in to fill part of the gap but are especially looking at Gulf Arab countries.
Fear is rife about the future of the organization that employs more than 20,000 people across the Middle East, the vast majority Palestinians.
UNRWA was established after the war surrounding Israel’s creation in 1948 when around 700,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled.
It offers vital support for these refugees and their descendants in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and the West Bank and Gaza, providing services for more than three million people.
This includes education for around half a million students, with nearly 30 percent of its funding coming from the United States.
In January, Trump tweeted “we pay the Palestinians HUNDRED OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect,” accusing them of walking away from peace negotiations.
Two weeks later his administration confirmed it would hold back tens of millions in aid to UNRWA, saying it wanted the rest of the world to pay more.
Krahenbuhl labelled it the agency’s worst ever financial crisis and launched a major funding drive, turning the front page of its website into a call for donations.
Senior officials traveled globally to push for funds, with UNRWA aiming to find nearly half a billion dollars in new money.
But since the launch of the “Dignity is Priceless” campaign, the only new funding was a $900,000 grant from Kuwait, though European countries have advanced donations planned for the summer.
Private donations ran only into the “hundreds of thousands,” Krahenbuhl said, calling it “not groundbreaking.” UNRWA did not respond to multiple requests for a more specific figure.
Krahenbuhl downplayed concerns the world was not stepping up to fill the gap.
“It takes a lot of political dialogue for these things to move forward, especially in light of the size of the shortfall,” he told AFP.
“States were planning to contribute $20-25 million to UNRWA and suddenly see a shortfall that has increased by $300 million. It is quite natural you will not have one single state that will come forward and close that shortfall.”
But UNRWA employees face deep concerns about the sheer size of the gap.
Nicola Jones, of the ODI think tank that focuses on aid, said she expected UNRWA leaders to be “really concerned” by the slow pace of new funds.
“They really did try to have a high profile public awareness campaign about the cost of withdrawing funding and I think it is clearly extremely disappointing that it hasn’t been fruitful.”
The Rome conference, co-hosted by Sweden, Egypt and Jordan, will seek fresh momentum.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will attend, his office confirmed Tuesday, though the US had yet to confirm who would attend from their side.
“When any agency depends on a single donor it is a vulnerability,” said Sweden’s ambassador to the United Nations Olof Skoog.
“Sharing the responsibility more equally is therefore reasonable, but we expect the United States to stay committed.”
Hugh Lovatt, Israel/Palestine analyst at the European Council of Foreign Relations think tank, said European countries were wary of being seen to bridge the funding gap for fear of vindicating Trump’s attempts to cut international aid funding.
Trump is due to announce his proposal for new Israel-Palestinian peace talks and Lovatt said all countries were waiting to see what vision it proposes for UNRWA.
He expected Europeans in Rome to make “concerted effort to corner the Americans and convince them to reconsider (their aid cuts).”
UN Palestinian agency in urgent search for cash at global gathering
UN Palestinian agency in urgent search for cash at global gathering
Regional health organization issues alert as measles cases surge across the Americas
- In the first three weeks of 2026, PAHO confirmed 1,031 new measles cases across seven countries — a staggering 43-fold increase compared to the same period last year
MEXICO CITY: The Pan American Health Organization, PAHO, on Wednesday issued a new epidemiological alert following a surge of measles cases across the Americas, with Mexico reporting the highest numbers. It also called for urgent vaccination campaigns, highlighting that 78 percent of recent cases involved unvaccinated people.
The alert follows Canada’s loss of measles-free status in November — a setback the United States and Mexico could soon mirror. While both governments have requested a two-month extension to contain their respective outbreaks, the situation is complicated by the Trump administration’s January withdrawal from the World Health Organization, the parent agency of PAHO.
Current data is discouraging; the upward trend persists with only months remaining before the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off across the three North American host nations.
In the first three weeks of 2026, PAHO confirmed 1,031 new measles cases across seven countries — a staggering 43-fold increase compared to the same period last year.
While no deaths have been reported thus far, the concentration remains high: Mexico leads with 740 cases, followed by the United States with 171 and Canada with 67.
The state of Jalisco, in western Mexico, has recorded the country’s highest incidence rate this year, following last year’s major outbreaks in Chihuahua and neighboring Texas.
In the United States, public health attention has shifted toward South Carolina, where cases are rising. In response, the Mexican government has spent weeks urging the public to receive the two-dose vaccine.
Authorities have even established mobile vaccination clinics in high-traffic hubs like airports and bus terminals, while in the capital, Mayor Clara Brugada launched 2,000 new vaccination modules this week.
“Everyone under 49 years of age, please get vaccinated,” Brugada urged on Tuesday, emphasizing that the vaccine is now accessible throughout the city. To maximize reach, the new modules are being stationed outside health centers and within major subway stations, bringing the campaign directly to the city’s busiest transit corridors.
PAHO’s alert follows a year of sustained growth in measles cases — the highest in five years — driven by a global resurgence and what the agency describes as “persistent immunization gaps.”
While adolescents and young adults account for the largest volume of cases, the highest incidence rates are striking children under the age of one. The disparity underscores a critical need to reinforce second-dose coverage.
Regional data is grim: only 33 percent of countries have reached the 95 percent threshold for the first vaccine dose, and a mere 20 percent have achieved it for the second.
