UNRWA to start Gaza reconstruction effort using U.A.E. donation

A large team of experts from UNRWA will start a comprehensive damage assessment survey in different areas of Gaza Strip, and is set to start reconstruction efforts using a recent generous donation from U.A.E., said Adnan Abu Hasna, a spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

"Hundreds of engineers and researchers were trained on how to deal with explosive remnants (of the recent war). They will use the same research and assessment form used by UNDP, the United Nations Development Programme, in order to avoid issues in the future," said Abu Hasna.

Gazan Palestinians who may not be satisfied with the damage assessment of their destroyed houses can complain to special committees.

"At the conclusion of the damage assessment, and using the generous U.A.E.'s Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) donation of around US$41 million for Gaza reconstruction efforts, UNRWA will pay for the restoration of slightly-damaged houses before winter begins," the UNRWA spokesman noted adding that the UN agency will launch a campaign to raise cash donations for renting houses to shelter displaced Gazans currently living at its overcrowded schools.

On 21 July, ERC donated US$40.8 million to UNRWA for desperately needed relief and post-war construction efforts in the Gaza Strip.
UNRWA said over 55,000 displaced people are still sheltering in 36 schools run by the UN agency.

In its latest humanitarian snapshot of Gaza emergency (as of 29 August 2014, OCHA (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) says as the ceasefire in Gaza allows for more in-depth sectoral assessments to be conducted, it is clear that the scale of damage is unprecedented, with approximately 13 per cent of the housing stock affected in Gaza Strip.

"Five per cent of the housing stock is uninhabitable - an estimated 18,000 housing units have been either destroyed or severely damaged, leaving more than 108,000 people homeless. This is in addition to the pre-crisis housing deficit of 71,000 housing units, due to people living in overcrowded or inadequate conditions."

OCHA says the provision of temporary housing solutions to these people is one of the major challenges facing the local authorities and the humanitarian community in the coming period.

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