As Israel ramps up its campaign to dismantle UNRWA, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, which has the largest humanitarian presence in Gaza, senior U.N. officials are concerned that it’s undermining international efforts to halt famine and suffering in the territory.
The war reached its grim six-month mark this week — and it came just days after Israel fired rockets at a World Central Kitchen relief convoy, killing seven aid workers. Meanwhile, Israel has stymied various U.N. agencies from delivering aid by using a complex web of rules and bureaucracy — delaying critical supplies and leaving hundreds of thousands of Gazans starving and without water or health care.
“UNRWA, as we have said over and over again, is the backbone of our humanitarian operations,” Stéphane Dujarric, the U.N.’s chief spokesperson, said at an April 3 press conference in response to a question from Devex’s U.N. correspondent Colum Lynch. “No one has the resources, the manpower, the logistics networks that UNRWA has.”
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That said, he added: “It’s not as if we’re seeing a situation where WFP [World Food Programme] convoys are being waved through with a green flag into the north. I mean the challenges are U.N.-wide.”
For example, an official told Colum that Israel has blocked a majority of drivers WFP has sought to hire to deliver food to northern Gaza.
Some 1.1 million Gazans, or half the population, are at risk of famine, and roughly 85% of food trucks are being denied or impeded, according to OCHA’s latest figures. UNRWA possesses critical logistical and security capabilities that other U.N. agencies lack — so it’s not just a matter of transferring responsibilities elsewhere.
And it’s hard to see how NGOs can fill the gaps amid the political war over UNRWA. Efforts to find alternative channels to deliver aid have largely faltered.
WCK paused its operations in Gaza as founder José Andrés called as founder José Andrés called for an independent investigation into the Israeli rocket attack. The organization said it had provided more than 43 million meals prior to Israel’s strike on WCK’s convoy last week, and just before being hit, its team had unloaded more than 100 tons of food aid. After the attack, three additional ships loaded with food reversed course and sailed back to Cyprus — ending WCK’s short-lived maritime aid corridor. Another relief agency, American Near East Refugee Aid, or Anera, then paused its own food distribution operations in Gaza.
“While we understand the severe consequences this suspension will have on the Palestinian population, the escalating risks associated with aid delivery leave us with no choice but to halt operations until our staff regain confidence that they can do their work without undue risk," Anera said in a statement.
At least 196 aid workers have been killed in Gaza and the West Bank since the war began in October.
Exclusive: UNRWA restrictions hamper Gaza relief by broader United Nations
Read more: Aid groups doubt Biden's maritime pier will solve Gaza's problems (Pro)
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Lost at sea
Speaking of troubled waters, three major global maritime trade routes currently face disruptions due to geopolitical and environmental shocks — with major implications for agricultural trade and humanitarian aid delivery.
The Black Sea, Red Sea, and Panama Canal each face their own unique problems, Devex contributor Jason Steinhauer explains.
Before Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Ukraine accounted for 10% of global wheat exports, and 96% of its agricultural products came via Black Sea ports. And while alternative trade routes have emerged, they have come with increased insurance prices, threats of attacks, and longer sailing routes that all bring higher prices.
Meanwhile, major shipping companies have stopped using the Red Sea — through which some 15% of global seaborne trade passes — since Houthi rebels started attacking ships in November, and a prolonged drought in the Panama Canal has reduced the number of ships able to pass through its locks.
But when routes close, opportunistic players step up for their own geopolitical gains, Jason writes. Indeed, one effect of disruptions to the Black Sea has been Russia increasing its food aid to Africa — which may be why evidence is uneven that the Ukraine war has contributed to food insecurity on the continent.
Read: How maritime trade disruptions are hurting global food security
Change of heart
Malawi’s government has made a U-turn on proposed changes to its land laws that would have limited land acquisition for agriculture to 1,000 hectares and barred foreigners from owning land in the country.
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The proposed land reforms were part of a long-running effort to formalize land tenure for landless subsistence farmers — mostly in southern Malawi, where farmers say their ancestral lands were illegally acquired by large-scale farms, writes Devex contributor Madalitso Wills Kateta. Two years ago, President Lazarus Chakwera introduced new limits to agricultural lands that many critics saw as populist and could spook investors. Among the loudest critics were large-scale farmers whose expansion was threatened by the 1,000-hectare limit.
Malawi’s principal secretary for lands, Devie Chilonga, told local media that the 1,000-hectare limit had been dropped. Malawi’s economy depends on farming, with more than 84% of its labor force engaged in some form of agricultural production. So there were also concerns that the changes could hurt the economy.
While the final draft of the revised laws is yet to be made public, landless farmers tell Madalitso they worry that they will be overlooked amid the government’s focus on appeasing foreign investors and large-scale farmers.
Read: Malawi shifts perspective on land reforms in bid to retain investors
Background reading: Malawi land reforms spark controversy, fear of lost investment
Chew on this
A year into the war in Sudan, opposing sides are starving civilians as famine looms. [Al Jazeera]
The World Bank’s private sector arm faces calls from animal welfare groups to phase out its support for industrial livestock farming amid its climate commitments. [The Guardian]
Can investing in better seed varieties and fertilizers turn Africa into the world’s breadbasket? That’s the hope for a variety of efforts underway, from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to The Rockefeller Foundation and CGIAR. [Financial Times]
Elissa Miolene contributed to this edition of Devex Dish.
About the author
Tania Karas@TaniaKaras
Tania Karas is a Senior Editor at Devex, where she edits coverage on global development and humanitarian aid in the Americas. Previously, she managed the digital team for The World, where she oversaw content production for the website, podcast, newsletter, and social media platforms. Tania also spent three years as a foreign correspondent in Greece, Turkey, and Lebanon, covering the Syrian refugee crisis and European politics. She started her career as a staff reporter for the New York Law Journal, covering immigration and access to justice.
