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COVID-19 Outbreak Rapid Needs Assessment in East Jerusalem

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COVID-19 Outbreak Rapid Needs Assessment in East Jerusalem COVID-19 Outbreak Rapid Needs Assessment in East Jerusalem Publication: May 2020 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Between 15 April and 5 May 2020, ACTED conducted a Rapid Needs Assessment in East Jerusalem to better understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its Palestinian population. The assessment aimed to evaluate communities’ specific emergency needs per sector and to recommend adequate interventions to address these needs. The assessment investigated the level of community knowledge on preventive and protective behaviors against COVID-19, assessed communities’ readiness, examined health facilities’ capacity, evaluated the impact of lockdowns on livelihoods and protection, and highlighted uncovered gaps. Data collection and analysis was conducted in 26 communities of East Jerusalem. 55 Key Informants (hereafter “respondents” and “Key Informants” will be used interchangeably) were identified to respond to the specifically developed questionnaire and represent their communities. Due to the specific conditions of some communities, this assessment includes several communities located in the “Seam Zone” surrounding East Jerusalem, such as Beit Iksa Bedouin community and An Nabi Samwil Bedouin community. Communities located inside the Israeli- declared municipal boundary, but outside of the Separation Wall, such as Kafr ‘Aqab, Qalandia, Al Walaja and Beir Onah, were not included in the assessment. No data was collected in Tal al 'Addasa Bedouin community, since it is uninhabited, as per OCHA’s and ACTED’s latest field reports. The main results are hereby summarized: Access and dissemination of information: Main sources of information on COVID-19 in the assessed communities are found to be mainstream and social media. 91% of the surveyed communities did not receive official information in their language from authorities. There is a clear lack of specific messaging towards children, with only 35% of the surveyed communities having awareness of such messages being disseminated. 69% of respondents had good knowledge of more than three good practices to avoid the spread of COVID-19. Respect for COVID-19 preventive measures: 82% of the respondents reported respecting the COVID-19- related lockdown and measures. While social distancing is respected in most villages and Bedouin/herder communities, the main neighborhoods of East Jerusalem and Shu’fat refugee camp do not practice social distancing. Community initiatives: In the absence of official directives, most of the communities surveyed have set up community-based mechanisms to prevent and respond to COVID-19, such as voluntary working groups and emergency committees, to undertake activities such as awareness promotion and provision of hygiene kits, food, or other items. However, many of these have been denied or stopped by the Israeli authorities. Food Security: A large majority of the communities assessed have continued access to functioning markets, despite an increased price of food since the beginning of the lockdown. 83% of Key Informants suggested that prices of basic food items have increased since the lockdown. WASH: Water supply remains good in terms of regularity, sufficiency and quality in all the assessed communities. Most sewage disposal and solid waste management systems remain good or satisfactory. 24% of the surveyed communities report poor sewage disposal and solid waste management systems, For more information, please contact: Mikolaj Radlicki, ACTED Country Director, [email protected] 3 with a worsened quality since the beginning of the lockdown, due to more frequent usage of household- level WASH facilities, closure of checkpoints in the “Seam Zone”, and emerging practices of burning solid waste. Less than half of the surveyed communities have adequate and regular cleaning, sanitizing and disinfection campaigns for public facilities. Health: There is at least one functioning health facility in all the surveyed main neighborhoods of East Jerusalem, Shu’fat camp and villages. There are, however, no functioning health facilities in most of the surveyed Bedouin/herder communities. In addition, 71% of Key Informants reported that their community members are not aware of the Ministry of Health’s hotline for medical information. Not all of the functioning health facilities have basic medical equipment for COVID-19 diagnosis. There are no isolation centers set up in the majority of the surveyed communities. Economic impact: Unskilled labor, shop keepers, taxi/bus drivers and workers from the tourism industry are the most severely affected by the COVID-19 restrictions. Key Informants for all the surveyed communities estimate that the number of poor households will drastically increase in these communities as a result of COVID-19. Education: While all schools in the surveyed communities have resorted to distance learning, most surveyed Key Informants have confirmed the lack of technical capacity and resources at household level to follow-up with this new set-up. 91% of the respondents do not think the current set-up is adequate or functioning. In addition, only two communities reported that MHPSS services were set up for children. The need to clean and disinfect schools ahead of reopening has been identified in half of the surveyed communities, as well as WASH facilities rehabilitation and provision of clean water-drinking points. Protection and MHPSS: There is an overall lack of knowledge about existing hotlines for psychosocial support. There is an increase in drug consumption and addiction in several of the assessed communities. There is also an increased in physical violence and harassment among communities, and tensions between families and community members. Assistance received: 69% of the surveyed communities have received assistance since the beginning of the lockdown, mainly food parcels and NFIs. The assistance was primarily provided by relatives or neighbors, CBOs and NGOs. No assistance was received from UN Agencies, ICRC or PRCS. Most of the received assistance is already consumed. Most acute humanitarian needs: Key Informants identified NFI/C19, food baskets and shelter assistance as the most acute unaddressed needs in their communities. INTRODUCTION Around 340,000 Palestinians currently reside in East Jerusalem. Approximately 140,000 Palestinians, representing more than one in four residents, are disconnected from the rest of Jerusalem due to the construction of the Israeli Separation Wall. As a result, East Jerusalem is severely neglected, with 76% of its residents living in poverty. For more information, please contact: Mikolaj Radlicki, ACTED Country Director, [email protected] 4 The Palestinian Authority and Israeli Government imposed State of Emergency restrictions following the World Health Organization’s (WHO) announcement on 30 January 2020 of a “public health emergency of international concern”, later reclassified as a “global pandemic” on 11 March 2020. By 25 March 2020, the measures imposed by the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli Government resulted in the restriction of movements between East Jerusalem and the remainder of the West Bank, as well as within East Jerusalem communities. As of 7 May, 2020, a total of 172 Palestinians are confirmed to have contracted COVID-19 in East Jerusalem, representing over 30% of the total cases in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt). Almost 95% of these cases were confirmed in April 2020. This number is likely to be under-reported due to the lack of testing facilities. In a situation where COVID-19 is spreading rapidly worldwide, where the confirmed number of cases in East Jerusalem is steadily increasing and in light of restrictions enforced by Israeli authorities on local communities, the concern for Palestinian communities of East Jerusalem is at its height. In order to provide a better understanding of vulnerabilities and needs within these communities, ACTED launched a Rapid Needs Assessment in 26 communities of East Jerusalem in April 2020. This assessment is built up on existing secondary data, including OCHA’s weekly situation reports and ICCG assessments conducted between 23 and 24 April 2020. In order to ensure a multi-sectoral overview of the situation in the assessed communities, and to ensure that the main knowledge gaps are addressed, ACTED incorporated questions from several clusters and MdM Suisse and built on recommendations from multiple partners working in East Jerusalem to develop its assessment tools. OBJECTIVES Assess community knowledge on preventive and protective behaviors against COVID-19; Understand sources and means of information on COVID-19 within the targeted communities; Assess communities’ readiness in light of the current pandemic; Identify uncovered needs per sector in the targeted communities; Examine health facilities’ capacity and resources to respond to the outbreak; Understand the impact of COVID-19-related lockdowns on livelihoods; Map the emergence or increase of protection incidents as a result of COVID-19. METHODOLOGY The assessment targeted 26 communities in East Jerusalem. According to OCHA, 22 of these communities are located in East Jerusalem while four are located in “Seam Zones” surrounding the city (Area C). In this assessment ACTED classified the communities as follows: thirteen as main East Jerusalem neighborhoods, seven as villages, five as Bedouin/herder communities and one as a refugee camp. For more information, please contact: Mikolaj Radlicki, ACTED Country Director, [email protected] 5 70% 61.8%
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