UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini was in Dublin yesterday where he met with Irish Foreign Minister Michael Martin, and warned that the cash crunch his agency is facing next month will become far worse in April, if it cannot secure fresh funding or convince donors to resume contributions they had suspended, reported Reuters. “Our operation will start to be compromised as from March but April will be really the month where we will be under deep, deep, deep negative cash flow,” Lazzarini told a news conference, describing the agency as being under an “existential threat.”
“At such a dangerous moment, it would be inconceivable to let UNRWA collapse,” Martin added. “People need to wake up internationally about this.” The Irish government announced €20 million in support for the agency and urged countries that have suspended funding to “urgently rescind that decision” and resume and expand their support.
