Living Conditions of Palestine Refugees to be Restored to International Standards

UNRWA Medium Term Plan (excerpts)
An international consensus has emerged on the need for a planning framework to restore high standards of service and to create for Palestine refugees the conditions for self reliance and sustainable development.

The Agency has designed a four-year plan (2005-2009) as a supplement its regular services to refugees. The plan is especially important in light of recent attacks on UNRWA by organizations seeking to defund and dismantle the Agency.

Indicators that once documented UNRWA's successes in health, education, relief, social services and other sectors are now in decline. In many areas these indicators compare unfavourably with host authority services as well as with international standards. Education and health facilities are often overcrowded and under-equipped; refugee homes and infrastructure are dilapidated and refugees are increasingly falling through the gaps in service provision. 
 UNRWA is also contending with high population growth rates among Palestine refugees, worsening socio-economic conditions in the region, several years of (inflation adjusted) negative-growth in its General Fund budget and – in some Fields – military blockades and restrictions on movement and access to labour markets.
Any further deterioration could threaten the long term human security of Palestine refugees and adversely affect stability in the Agency's areas of operation.

The need for a strategic approach was clearly communicated by UNRWA's stakeholders in the recommendations issued during the Geneva Conference of June 2004. UNRWA's planning framework centres on four mutually reinforcing and flexible objectives.

First, there is a pressing need to raise the standard of UNRWA services to levels that compare favourably with host authority services and fulfil international benchmarks. Raising standards would mean delivering high quality services that effectively and efficiently fulfil refugee needs and are accessible to all refugees on an equitable basis.

Basic Education Indicators, 2002-2003

Indicators Gaza Lebanon Syria Jordan West Bank
UNRWA Gov't UNRWA Gov't UNRWA Gov't UNRWA Gov't UNRWA Gov't
Occupancy rate (Elem. & Prep.) 47.1 37.5 36.4 21 42.4 NA 40.1 28 38.6 NA
Percentage of double shift schools 77 21 61.9 NA 94.7 47 91.6 15 41.1 NA
Percentage of rented schools 0 12 45.2 NA 9.7 12 25.8 34 15.8 9
Pupils/teacher ratio (Elem.) 38.8 28 31.9 9 39.7 22 34 21 32.6 33
Pupils/teacher ratio (Prep.) 27.6 27 21.1 9 28.7 22 26.7 21 26 27
Area per pupil (Elem. & Prep.) 0.95 1.3 1.1 NA 1 NA 1.16 1.9 1.07 1.2

Source: UNRWA Medium Term Plan (2005-2009), A Better Future for Palestine Refugees.
Basic Health Indicators, 2003
Indicators Jordan Lebanon Syria Palestine
MoH UNRWA MoH UNRWA MoH UNRWA MoH West Bank Gaza
No. primary health facilities per 100,000 population 24 1.4 69 6.4 21 5.7 29 5.3 1.9
No. doctors per 100,000 population 220 5.2 281 13.1 146 12 84 10 9.85
No. dentists per 100,000 population 45 1.2 105 4.1 85 3.2 8 2 1.5
No. nurses per 100,000 population 280 12.9 300 28.7 197 <div style="text-