**Updated**Web-Based Database Solution for Relief and Reconstruction of Nahr El-Bared Refugee Camp

The United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution No.302 (IV) on 8 December 1949 creating the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refuges in the Near East (UNRWA) in response to the plight of nearly three quarters of a million Palestinians who became refugees in the aftermath of the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. UNRWA’s current mandate expires on 30 June 2012.

UNRWA provides basic education, health services, relief and social services and microfinance and microenterprise services and carries out infrastructure and camp improvement projects for more than [4.6] million Palestine refugees in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

UNRWA’s Northern Management Unit (NMU) is responsible for the reconstruction of Nahr el-Bared refugee camp (NBC) and providing emergency relief services to camp residents during their displacement. The reconstruction effort led by UNRWA attempts to rebuild the camp while keeping the social fabric and original location of resident homes intact. UNRWA established the Nahr el-Bared Reconstruction Commission (NBRC) as a community-driven body to determine the original location of residential units, commercial centers and other buildings in order to plan the camp design. The NBRC has worked with the community to create a design that accommodates community wishes while minding the technical limitations to space and design imposed by the Master Plan.

The NBRC and NMU’s Design Unit developed a comprehensive GIS and informational database of all data related to the reconstruction, including residents’ previous location and unit area. In order to comply with restrictions in the Master Plan and the limited land available for the camp, the redesign required a reduction in the reconstructed units of all NBC residents. This reduction was calculated on a complex formula that weighed original area, family size, health conditions, and other variables. All units are subject to this reduction formula and the NMU database ensures the accuracy and consistency of both the original and the deducted area of each unit. The database was developed at the beginning of the reconstruction process, prior to the production of detailed designs and commencement of actual construction. There is therefore a need to make modifications to it to reflect, amongst other things, a tracking system of complaints and modifications.

The various standalone systems supporting the relief and reconstruction activities (health, emergency food, emergency case, regular food program, reconstruction, registration etc) in the North are not currently linked to one another. This significantly hampers the Agency’s ability to coordinate the movement and entitlements of displaced persons. Some work has been undertaken to establish links between some of these systems, but the Agency is in need of a company to continue and complete this work in order to establish a comprehensive web-based database solution that links emergency relief services to the reconstruction process.