The Emergency Appeals (EAs) are the funding mechanism that support emergency humanitarian interventions targeting Palestine refugees in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), Palestinian Refugees from Syria (PRS) in Lebanon and Jordan, and Palestine refugees who remain in Syria. These interventions are not covered or are only partially covered by the Agency’s Programme Budget (PB) or by projects’ budgets. This evaluation acknowledges the uniquely challenging environment that UNRWA operates in and its increasing caseload and needs over time. In oPt, the humanitarian crisis persists as a result of Israel’s continued occupation of the West Bank including East Jerusalem, and recurring escalations of violence in Gaza, already crippled by 15 years of blockade and degrading infrastructure. Regarding the Syria refugee crisis and the emergency inside Syria, conditions have continued to erode in Syria and in neighbouring Lebanon and Jordan where PRS are hosted.
This report presented the findings of the Evaluation of the UNRWA Emergency Appeals for the oPt and the Syria Regional Crisis (SRC). The evaluation, which was conducted between March 2022 and February 2023, assessed the ways in which the EAs are designed, planned and used. The scope of the evaluation was the EAs for both the oPt and the Syria Regional Crisis with a specific focus on interventions that received the highest amount of funding. The timeframe of focus was the 2016-2021 period, with a view to inform priorities for 2024 onwards, recognising that priorities for 2023 had already been developed. The evaluation served a dual purpose of accountability and learning by assessing the functioning, use and contribution of EA funding to fulfil the needs of Palestine refugees.
