Early Recovery Mapping Workshop – Report

INTRODUCTION 

In spite of the continued blockade on the Gaza Strip, more than 100 participants from UN agencies, NGOs and public and private sectors, met in Gaza City to share information on what they have done to aid early recovery and what they plan to do.

More than four months after the end of the Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip, the living conditions of Gazans remain precarious and dire. While humanitarian assistance is being provided by United Nations agencies and their international and national partners, most early recovery and reconstruction activities are hampered by strict Israeli restrictions on access to goods, material and equipment into the Gaza Strip.

As a result, only limited repair of basic services has taken place. Education and health services continue to be overstretched. Some 30,000 people remain without regular access to potable water, houses are not being rebuilt and employment and livelihood opportunities continue to be scarce, thus increasing the dependency of the population on humanitarian assistance and cash transfers. In addition, lack of construction material and spare parts for waste water treatment and solid waste disposal are posing grave public health and environmental concerns.

A number of early recovery interventions are however taking place in the Gaza Strip, and plans are being designed to help Gazans recover from the crisis and reconstruct their lives once access restrictions are lifted. The present report provides a snapshot of the status of current and planned early recovery interventions in the Gaza Strip by the Early Recovery Cluster and Network partners (United Nations agencies and their international and national partners).

The report is based on a mapping exercise conducted by the different IASC clusters and sectoral working groups operating in the occupied Palestinian territory with support from the Early Recovery Cluster/Network. The purpose of this mapping exercise was to allow for all partners to have a clear picture of where we stand in terms of current support and preparedness for early recovery in Gaza.

The outcome of this mapping exercise was discussed in a workshop organized in Gaza on 30 April 2009. The workshop gathered more than 100 participants from 56 organizations. This report also reflects the major findings and recommendations from the workshop.