The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is expanding its assistance for vulnerable children and families in Gaza through a new partnership with the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), according to a press release issued by the EBRD on 11 June 2026. The initiative marks the first-ever charitable donation from the EBRD’s West Bank & Gaza Trust Fund. Under the agreement, UNICEF will receive €500,000 over a 12-month period. The grant falls within the framework of the EBRD Community Initiative, the Bank’s charitable arm. It aims to deliver essential water, sanitation and hygiene services along with targeted cash assistance to those most in need in Gaza.
The funding will support around 50,000 people, including more than 23,000 children, and assist about 1,400 households. Particular attention will be given to families caring for children with disabilities or injuries, given their vulnerability. Across Gaza, almost 1.7 million people, including more than 800,000 children, remain displaced. They are living in deteriorating conditions. The programme responds directly to these circumstances by addressing both immediate and longer-term needs.
The programme combines the emergency provision of water with digitally delivered cash assistance. This dual approach will help vulnerable households meet their most urgent needs. It also seeks to strengthen their resilience in a highly challenging environment. Improving access to safe water stands at the core of the intervention. The cash component is designed to reach beneficiaries efficiently through digital channels.
In addition to water and cash support, the programme will provide safe and dignified transitional shelters. These shelters are intended to ensure protection, privacy and basic living standards for displaced families. UNICEF has been working on the ground tirelessly to provide children and families with essential water and sanitation, education, child protection and health services. Its objective is to make sure that no child is left behind. The new EBRD partnership reinforces these ongoing efforts.
The €500,000 grant represents the EBRD’s first humanitarian contribution of its kind to UNICEF. Other charitable donations for Gaza are expected to follow through match-funding of EBRD staff fundraising efforts. The collaboration reflects a coordinated response between a development finance institution and a leading UN agency. It targets both immediate humanitarian needs and longer-term resilience. The initiative underscores the EBRD’s growing engagement in the West Bank and Gaza.
