34 percent of the population is food insecure At the end of 2006, at least 2.1 million Palestinians (56.8 percent of Palestinian households) are living below the poverty line according to an income based definition of poverty.  Poverty remained much higher in the Gaza Strip at 79.3 percent  Chronic malnutrition affects nearly 10 percent of children under five. The number of checkpoints and roadblocks in the West Bank has increased by 40 percent through 2006.

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CERF allocates US$ 3.7 million for underfunded humanitarian activities in the occupied Palestinian territories

29 August 2007: The root causes of the crisis in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt), such as Israeli-Palestinian violence, increased restrictions on Palestinian movement, road usage restrictions and barrier expansion have intensified over the last months.  The residual effects of the Palestinian Authority fiscal crisis, the split between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank has also worsened the humanitarian indicators for Palestinians.

The dramatic increase in poverty is linked to a corresponding increase in food insecurity and dramatic vulnerability as regards non food needs. In June 2006, a WFP/ FAO assessment estimated that almost 2 million - or 49 percent of all Palestinians - were food insecure. As the conditions causing food insecurity have worsened, the percentage of food insecure people has also increased. At this time, almost the entire population of Gaza is relying on donor assistance.

Cave dwelling Palestinians [Photo: IRIN]

The CERF grant for underfunded emergencies will be used to address critical life-saving needs and support in four sectors: Health, water, food, and psychosocial support. Funding these projects will enable coverage of key humanitarian services in the areas with the most acute needs (the Gaza Strip and also Hebron, one of the poorest areas of the West Bank).

UNRWA will provide emergency food assistance in the Gaza Strip. Following the last round of internal violence in the Gaza Strip in June 2007, the population there are increasingly dependent on food assistance to meet established minimum nutritional standards in emergencies. Over 860,000 of the one million refugees in Gaza are now dependent on UNRWA’s food assistance to survive. 

WHO will procure Primary Health Care pharmaceutical supplies in order to address a critical gap in the availability of essential drugs. About one-fourth of all essential drugs have been unavailable since the beginning of this year. The WHO project will ensure support to primary health care centres and timely access to essential drugs.

UNICEF will seek to alleviate the lack of access to water in the South-Western rural areas of Hebron Governorate, one of the most underserved areas in the West Bank with severe shortage of clean water. The recent IDF imposed closures have exacerbated poor access to clean water, the consequences of which has been quite visible in a recent diarrhoea outbreak in the area. UNICEF supported activities aim to provide water for approximately 750 families.

UNIFEM will address the psychosocial impacts of the on-going conflict, which has taken a particularly violent turn in recent times as intra Palestinian violence has increased. There is also a lack of protective services for women in general. This is coupled with the high needs caused by the general lawlessness in Gaza and increased violence.

This allocation forms part of the second underfunded allocation in 2007

[Last Update: 5 September 2007]

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CERF funds emergency psycho-social interventions for children in Gaza

20 March 2007: In 2006, 127 children were killed and another 472 children injured as a direct result of the on-going conflict. The psycho-social impact on the children and their future must be acted on immediately. On-going inter-factional violence is but one symptom of how the communities and population have lived over the years. If this is not addressed during the formative years of children - and treated as an emergency - the situation will likely worsen, resulting in more casualties.

With the CERF grant of over US$ 200,000, UNICEF will respond immediately after the occurrence of violent events, deploying a team of psycho-social specialists and counselors for children. UNICEF works in close partnership with The Palestinian Center for Democracy and Conflict Resolution which has at its disposal the local experts necessary to be culturally sensitive in dealing with psychosocial activities.

Psycho-social support forms part of any emergency response and is usually deployed alongside other rapid actions as it enables recovery and allows quick adaptation and return to society for the people affected by the emergency.

The UN Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) will use the CERF grant of US$ 2.3 million to repair 75 structurally damaged and reconstruct 110 demolished housing units for 193 refugee families.

[Last Update: 29 March 2007]

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CERF in the occupied Palestinian territory in 2008

CERF in the occupied Palestinian territory in 2006
 
Click here to download the 2007 Consolidated Appeal for occupied Palestinian territory
Word Pdf Zip

Click here to download the 2007 CAP Mid-Year Review: Word Pdf Zip

Click here for OCHA in oPt