U.S. News & World Report: Commentary: U.S. Aid Cuts Threaten Refugee Access to Health Care
Akihiro Seita, director of the Health Department for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)

“…Permanent U.S. aid cuts [to UNRWA] would tremendously undermine UNRWA’s ability to provide care that the international community, through the General Assembly, has been requesting UNRWA to deliver to Palestine refugees, pending a just and lasting solution to their plight. … If the global community is serious in committing to and calling for universal health care coverage, it must include everyone, everywhere, and encourage the United States to restore its full contribution to UNRWA. The plight of Palestine refugees will not be resolved through the withholding of humanitarian aid to UNRWA, and their needs will not vanish. Rather, their needs and associated costs are ultimately bound to increase with each dollar that is taken away from investing in their health” (4/6).