UNICEF 2003 Mid-Year Update
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TABLE OF CONTENTS Young Palestinian girl stands at rubble of homes destroyed by Israeli military at Block O in Rafah, South Gaza. Oct 7th 2001 Photo: UNICEF-OPT/Steve Sabella HUMANITARIAN APPEAL OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY UNICEF 2003 Mid-Year Update THE SITUATION OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN THE OPT: A CONTINUOUS CHALLENGE General Overview The Palestinian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) totals approximately 3.3 million people (2.1 million live in the West Bank and 1 million live in the Gaza Strip). This figure includes 1.8 million Palestinian children constituting 53% of the Palestinian population. Since the outbreak of increased violence between Israelis and Palestinians in September 2000, the decline in the quality of life of Palestinian children has been rapid and profound. This is directly linked to the violence and mobility restrictions children experience daily, including the death and injury to their person and that of their family and friends, damage to their property including the demolition of their homes, and the frustration and poverty they sustain. 405 Palestinian and 92 Israeli children have been killed in the current conflict.1 Over 8,000 Palestinian children have been injured. The Israeli military has damaged or destroyed at least 655 Palestinian homes since September 28, 2002, displacing at least 5,124 Palestinians. The situation has, for the last months, been characterized by unprecedented levels of violence and by the most severe, sustained mobility restrictions imposed on the West Bank and Gaza since 1997. Israeli military-imposed closure and curfews along with border closures and other mobility restrictions have had severe impact on the Palestinian economy. The decline in economic activity has been accelerating further in recent months, and prospects for any short-term economic recovery are now grim. The resulting loss of livelihoods and income is one of the primary causes of increasing poverty and the deepening humanitarian crisis. Twenty-seven months after the outbreak of violence, the number of people living below the poverty line has tripled from 637,000 in September 2000 to nearly 2 million today. Unemployment has increased dramatically from 10 percent in September 2000 to over 50 percent in March 2003.2 According to World Bank estimates, 60 percent of the population in the West Bank and Gaza live under a poverty line of US$2 per day.3 The Impact of the Conflict on Palestinian Children and Women Children are paying a heavy and disproportionate price for this conflict between adults - many with their lives. The rights of Palestinian children to survival, protection, development and participation - all guaranteed by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - are being denied. 1 Defense for Children International; BT’selem 13 March 2003 2 World Bank estimate includes those no longer seeking work. Under the more restrictive definition of employment, the current rate is estimated at 42 percent. 3 World Bank, 5 March 2003, Two Years of Intifada, Closures and Palestinian Economic Crisis – An Assessment, World Bank 2 Impact on Health and Nutrition The health and nutrition status of the Palestinian Key Information – Health population, and in particular of children and women, is of • 43% of households report problems in major concern to UNICEF as well as to the national health accessing health services because of the authorities. A recent survey supported by UNICEF closures while 59% report difficulty in paying revealed that 3.5% of 6-59 month old children are for the cost of treatment (PCBS) underweight, 9% are stunted and 2.5% suffer from • 5-16% of health professionals in the 4 wasting. The survey has also shown that the rate of West Bank cannot regularly reach work moderate anemia among 6-59 month old children is (MOE/WHO) 14.9% and 5.7% among girls and women in the • By early 2001, UNRWA West Bank reproductive age (15-49 years). reported a 16% decrease in hospital deliveries and a 15% increase in home birth. Postnatal At least 64% of the surveyed households had faced care dropped by 52% difficulty in getting food supplies during the Intifada. 85.2% • Immunization for refugee children of households reported that the restriction on movement dropped by 16% in the first quarter of 2001. was the main reason for this problem, while 56% of the Intensive activities in the second quarter households reported loss of family income. According to helped bring coverage back up to pre-Intifida World Bank estimates, real per capita food consumption rates of more than 95% (UNRWA) has dropped by 30 percent since September 2000. • The MOH three-month strategic stock of drugs was depleted by 55% for antibiotics in Special immunization campaigns, such as the drive to September 2001 (MOH/WHO) eradicate polio, are under pressure as well general health services in remote Palestinian villages. Psychological Impact: the Effects of Violence Family’s lives, behavior and attitudes have changed dramatically since the onset of the current conflict. Approximately 75% of Palestinian adults report that children are experiencing greater emotional problems and behavioral change compared with a year ago. Many children react to the atmosphere of violence by becoming increasingly aggressive themselves, especially towards peers and siblings. Traumatic events such as the death or injury of family and friends, house-to-house searches, and the humiliating round-up and detention of fathers and brothers lead to particularly acute psychological problems. These problems affect children’s confidence in adults, and induce an increased acceptance of violence as an adequate method for resolving problems and diminished hopes and belief in a just future. In this atmosphere of heightened violence and daily conflict, children’s opportunity to play and maintain a sense of normalcy in their lives is drastically reduced. As military operations in the West Bank and Gaza intensifies, the daily exposure to clash points and violence continues to have long lasting effects on the well being and development of the Palestinian children. Impact on Education A decade of effort to improve the education of children in the Key Information – Education OPT is now under serious threat. Israeli military imposed • mobility restrictions undermine the basic right of all Palestinian 93 schools were shelled and 6 schools were closed for 1-2 months during the children to access education. The current situation is affecting first 8 months of the current conflict close to one million students and over 39,000 teachers in (MOE) some 1,786 schools (1,490 PA schools and 296 UNRWA schools), with severe disruptions to the entire educational • 3 schools were taken over by the system. During the first month of the school year (September Israeli military and converted into army 2002), more than 226,000 Palestinian children (23% of posts, displacing 3,000 students (MOE) children attending school) and over 9,300 teachers (36% of • 275 schools are situated close to flash Ministry of Education teachers) were unable to reach their points in the current conflict (MOE) regular classrooms. In addition, at least 580 schools were closed due to Israeli-imposed military curfews, closures and • An estimated 31,117 student school home confinement. The Israeli military has damaged at least days were lost in the West Bank in the 197 schools through military operations, and 275 schools are last school year, and 7,400 in Gaza currently in the direct line of confrontation. (MOE) 4 Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, 2003 3 The Road Map to Peace: a Potential for Hope After the long stalemate of the Oslo process and the deadlock of all initiatives towards a political solution, the Road Map to Peace in the Middle East brought Israelis and Palestinians back to the negotiation table. It is hoped by many that the Road Map will contribute to a positive change in the current situation, as even limited progress towards the road to peace may lead to a cessation of violence, and significantly ease the humanitarian and economic situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Progress towards achieving the Road Map would also constitute an important opportunity for the international community to intensify its response to the humanitarian crisis in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, in order to create more favorable living conditions for the Palestinian population and its most vulnerable groups, the children and women, and by doing so will also add to the viability and sustainability of the said peace process. By the same token, it would also allow the Palestinian Authority and the various PA public services to build their capacity and ability to effectively deliver services to their population. In the mid-term, successful measures achieved by the Road Map would facilitate a visible and tangible improvement to the economic situation, the provision of basic services, including health and education, and an alleviation of the psychosocial impact caused by the prolonged violence experienced to date. In the longer-term, these significant improvements may very well lead to a gradual reduction in the need for humanitarian support to the Palestinian population. While hoping that measures to break the current political deadlock will indeed prove favorable, UNICEF is taking steps to strengthen its own support and capacity building capability at the community level, should movement restrictions persist. UNICEF Response to the Growing Humanitarian Crisis: Overcoming Restrictions on Access The humanitarian crisis in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is intensified by the restriction of movement and security measures imposed by the Israeli security system. Travel currently remains extremely difficult, if not impossible, for Palestinians, and is severely hindered for international missions. Though implementation of interventions by UNICEF counterparts in the various population centers and rural areas are ongoing, restrictions impact heavily on monitoring project activities, providing both technical assistance and capacity building to counterparts and the provision of basic services to women and children.