The Contribution of Women to Peace and Reconciliation

Relief services
UNRWA’s relief services programme works to alleviate poverty among
Palestinian refugee families, with a priority on the “abject poor”. The
programme provides social safety-net assistance that includes basic
food support, cash subsidies and additional family income supplements
to the most vulnerable Palestinian refugees caught in the cycle of abject
poverty. It also provides selective cash assistance, such as one-off cash
grants for basic household needs, or for family emergencies.
The programme also provides direct aid during emergencies caused by
violence and political unrest, along with shelter rehabilitation in coordination
with the department of infrastructure and camp improvement.
The social safety-net programme is the only programme that caters to
the needs of the most vulnerable Palestinian refugees by delivering food
aid and cash subsidies on a regular basis.
Millennium Development Goals
UNRWA’s integrated approach to fighting poverty is part of its strategy
to achieve the first Millennium Development Goal, eradicating extreme
poverty and hunger.
Social services
UNRWA’s social services programme addresses some of the most pressing
socio-economic needs of the Palestinian refugee community. It promotes
community-based action that enables particularly vulnerable
refugees to become more self-reliant. The programme is committed to
developing the institutional capacity of more than 100 community-based
organizations (CBOs) that organize a wide range of social, cultural and
recreational activities, as well as skills training and rehabilitation services.
To systematically fulfil this commitment, UNRWA developed the capacity
assessment tool, which was piloted in one out of five CBOs. The
tool contributes to building the governance, management and leadership,
programmes and services, and financial management of the CBOs,
as well as assessing their operations each year. The programme particularly
addresses the needs of women, refugees with disabilities, young
people and the elderly. It also helps vulnerable refugees through its
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