UNRWA's Financial Crisis and Socio-economic Condition of Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and the West Bank and Gaza

The Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with an interest in obtaining more thorough information and analysis concerning the relationship between UNRWA's ongoing financial crisis and the living conditions of registered Palestinian refugees, agreed to fund a study on the topic undertaken by Fafo beginning in March 2000.

The purpose of the study is to produce accurate and objective data and analysis which would contribute to the understanding of the relationship between trends in living conditions among refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, West Bank and Gaza Strip; UNRWA expenditure and level of service provision; and actual choices made by refugees in response to UNRWA's growing series of cost-containment measures.

The results of the study include the development of a set of comparable indicators of housing, education, health, income, labour and poverty conditions among refugees in all fields (with some exceptions for the West Bank and Gaza), in addition to three volumes of papers. The volumes each cover a different aspect of socio-economic conditions and UNRWA service delivery: Volume 1: Socio-economic conditions among refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank and Gaza; Volume 2: The Persistence of Poverty among Palestinian Refugees; and Volume 3: UNRWA and Other Providers' of Social Services, the Budget Process and Donor Environment of UNRWA. Results are based on a number of sources including Fafo survey data, UNRWA published reports and secondary analysis of other survey data from the West Bank and Gaza.

In addition to the research programme, the project also has an Editorial Advisory Group, members of which include academics and experts in various disciplines from Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The Group has reviewed papers as they are completed, provided feedback to researchers and participated in a number of workshops together with authors and UNRWA representatives throughout the research period. Both the Editorial Group and the workshops are funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

Editorial Advisory Group

• Dr. Abdel Fattah Abu Shokor, Al-Najab National University, West Bank
• Dr. Randa Farah, University of West Ontario, Canada
• Dr. Rema Hammami, Women Studies Center, Birzeit University, West Bank
• Dr. Mohammad Ali Khalidi, American University in Beirut, Lebanon
• Dr. Youssef al-Madi, Director, Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Syria
• Dr. Adnan Abdel Rahim, Syria
• Dr. Rosemary Sayigh, Lebanon
• Dr. Salim Tamari, Institute of Jerusalem Studies, Jerusalem
• Dr. Ali Zaghal, Director, Displaced Persons and Forced Migration Studies Center, Yarmouk University, Jordan

Results

• Overhead presentation of main socio-economic conditions findings in English
• Final reports: UNRWA's Financial Crisis and Refugee Living Conditions, Volume I: Socio-economic Conditions among Palestinian Refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the West Bank and Gaza; Volume II: The Persistence of Poverty in the Palestinian Nation; Volume III: UNRWA Service Delivery, Budget and Donor Environment.
• Summary report: Blome-Jacobsen, Laurie (ed.): UNRWA's Financial Crisis and Refugee Living Conditions

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See also

• Living Conditions among Palestinian refugees in camps in Lebanon
• Living Conditions among Palestinian refugees in camps in Syria
• Living Conditions in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan
• Demographic Survey in the West Bank and Gaza Strip

Researchers

• Laurie Blome Jacobsen (Project Director)
• Jon Pedersen
• Marwan Khawaja
• Willy Egset
• Lena Endresen
• Gro Hasselknippe
• Rex Brynen, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
• Ian Barney, Center for Development Studies, University of Wales, UK
• Marzio Babille, MD, MPH
• Adnan Abdel Rahim
• Penny Johnson, Birzeit University, West Bank
• Lee O'Brien