UNRWA faces $250 million deficit and needs loan to pay staff, chief says

Acting commissioner-general Christian Saunders told the UN General Assembly’s Fourth Committee on 12 November that the agency faced a $250 million budget deficit for 2026. That figure includes a cash-flow shortfall of approximately $70 million.

Saunders said he would need to request a loan from the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund to keep paying staff through the end of the year. He appealed to member states for immediate support as people in Gaza face another winter in conditions he said no one should have to endure.

The agency provides services including healthcare and education for Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. In September, Saunders said it had already reduced service delivery hours by 20 per cent, with corresponding pay cuts for most local staff. At the time, he estimated the 2026 cash-flow deficit at $100 million.

The agency also faces operational restrictions. At the committee meeting, Norway’s representative said Israeli legislation had impeded its work. Israel’s representative called for UNRWA to be dismantled, alleging that its employees were involved in the 7 October 2023 attacks. In September, Saunders said UNRWA had implemented 41 of the 50 recommendations from an independent review of its neutrality.