Humanitarian action report 2007 – OPT – UNICEF report (excerpts)

FOREWORD

Emergencies, in the form of natural disasters and new or protracted conflict, continued to extract a toll on the lives of children and women around the world. Massive flooding in the Horn of Africa and the multiple typhoons in South Asia were typical of the ever more frequent occurrence of floods, typhoons and earthquakes that have affected thousands of families in 2006. While in Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the occupied Palestinian territory, Sri Lanka and the Sudan, women and children continue to be impacted by the reverberating crossfire of conflict. In its sixty-year history, UNICEF has learned that protecting the lives of vulnerable women and children requires governments, local communities, humanitarian agencies and the donor community to work in partnership.

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1. CRITICAL ISSUES FOR CHILDREN

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In the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), the situation is particularly tense in the Gaza strip with worries of further deterioration. It is reported that, between January and September 2006, 464 Palestinian were killed, including 90 children. This is more than double the number killed during all of 2005 (210). There has been a continued system of closures of access and infrastructure as well both in the West Bank and throughout the Gaza strip. This seriously affects both the economic and social fabric of Palestinian society – including the right to education, to play and to health and nutrition. By the same token, the election of the Hamas government and the following restrictions of funding on the Palestinian authorities have resulted in very serious political tensions within the Palestinian population, and in the closure of a number of public services and Palestinian Authoritysupported public institutions. The consequences in terms of access to services or overall insecurity in the country will continue to be felt for some time to come.

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Emergency preparedness

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In oPt, two similar exercises of reviewing the humanitarian context and its possible evolution – with attached humanitarian consequences and expected humanitarian access – were undertaken this year. The first was conducted in the context of the Gaza disengagement and consisted of strengthening response capacity in Gaza, notably in the areas of response planning, logistics, telecommunications and security. The second was aimed at preparing for and responding to the significant deterioration of security and access to services due to the lack of financial security for Palestinian Authority public workers, as well as the political tensions between Fatah and Hamas movements, in addition to the usual military incursions and closure of Gaza/Rafah strips from the Israeli Defence Forces and their humanitarian and psychological impact on women and children. Both exercises were particularly challenging in anticipating further difficulties in humanitarian access and trying to find innovative and effective ways to continue to provide at least minimal humanitarian assistance.

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1. CRITICAL ISSUES FOR CHILDREN

2006 witnessed the detrimental unravelling of the institutions and systems that children rely on for protection and support. Across the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), the ongoing conflict, the withholding of resources to the Palestinian Authority, the decrease in donor funding, and internal strife, have generated a massive rise in poverty and pushed the humanitarian crisis to the brink of disaster. Whether it is health care and education, protection from violence and abuse, or opportunities to play without fear – children have never had it so bad.

Escalations in both external and internal fighting have generated abuses of child rights on an unprecedented scale, including extraordinary levels of violence both inside and outside the home.

By the end of September 2006, 91 children had lost their lives due to the conflict, double the number as compared with the same period last year (47), and 348 children were in detention facilities. Health, education, water and sanitation and adolescent and psychosocial needs are at critical levels, with a risk of further deterioration. UNICEF’s commitment to protect and support Palestinian children has never been greater. If ever there was a time to scale up support to children, now is it.

This year, the withholding of funding from the Palestinian Authority also prevented the Government from assuming its normal role in providing basic social services. Tighter restrictions on access and movement, and continued military incursions affected the entire population in the West Bank and Gaza extensively. The protracted non-payment of civil servants salaries and the open strike called in September added a new dimension to the humanitarian crisis.

The impact on children is corrosive and enduring. Indicators on child well-being have deteriorated and will continue to decline without scaled-up action. Access to quality health care and education, water and sanitation, and activities for children and adolescents have been severely restricted.

Violence among children on the streets is rising, as well as in homes and schools, where children are supposed to be safest. A 2005 study by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics and the Secretariat for the National Plan of Action for Children titled Psychosocial Wellbeing Indicators for Palestinian Children and Families revealed that children are showing signs of acute distress including anxiety, nightmares, and withdrawal. Because prolonged exposure can leave lasting impact on child development, psychosocial support for both children and their caregivers has become more important than ever.

In the health sector, the lack of essential drugs and equipment, along with power, fuel and water shortages in Gaza, has cut services back significantly. One in ten children is stunted, one in two is anaemic, and 75 per cent of children under the age of five suffer from vitamin A deficiency.

Deepening poverty and food shortages in Gaza are also exacerbating nutrition deficiencies. The majority of children die in the first month of life because they are born prematurely or with low birthweight, and due to the lack of drugs and equipment to provide proper care. (According to the Demographic and Health Survey 2004, low birthweight rates are as high as 8.2 per cent in the West Bank and 8.3 per cent in Gaza.)

A number of marginalized rural communities are not served by piped-water systems or other potable water sources, and many children lack safe drinking water at home and in schools, particularly in Gaza. Public hospitals and clinics, again in Gaza, are also in need of reliable and steady supply of drinking water, as well as appropriate storage facilities. Sanitary conditions in schools and in the most vulnerable district hospital buildings are a significant public health concern.

The simple act of getting to school on a daily basis remains a serious challenge for both students and teachers. When children are unable to access their schools, it is difficult for them to maintain their studies, and when they do return to school, they need help in catching up with their missed lessons. Education quality also continues to be a major challenge. Schools lack basic teaching and learning materials, and few teachers have the skills needed to create child-friendly learning environments. Outside classrooms, students have few opportunities for sports and recreation.

The conflict has had a particularly damaging impact on adolescents, who comprise a large, vulnerable and volatile group. At least two-thirds do not have safe spaces for recreation and most of the 300 youth clubs across oPt lack funding and are poorly managed and equipped. Worsening socio-economic conditions point to the likelihood that the numbers of adolescents exposed to abuse, violence, and exploitation will increase.

2. KEY ACTIONS AND ACHIEVEMENTS IN 2006

In the area of health, UNICEF provided all vaccines for children and tetanus toxoid for 75,000 women of reproductive age. Children’s vaccines included BCG, HepB, IPV, DPT, OPV, measles, MMR, Td, Dt. A new vaccine, Hib-DPT, against Haemophilus Influenzae, was added to the immunization schedule and administered to children in November. Beneficiaries included an estimated 200,000 children under two years of age and 245,000 students. UNICEF also provided logistical support (fuel and vehicle maintenance) to the Ministry of Health outreach services.

Emergency supplies and equipment, including eight generators, were provided to primary health care clinics and neonatal units of 17 general hospitals. Essential medicines, including paediatric drugs and disposables, were delivered to around 400 primary health care clinics. UNICEF distributed more than 400,000 bottles of iron syrup, 13 million iron/folic acid tablets, 108,000 bottles of vitamin A and D supplements and promoted breastfeeding and appropriate child feeding.

In the area of water and sanitation, UNICEF provided large water tankers, water testing kits, and family water and hygiene kits to around 2,200 households in communities in Gaza where water networks were destroyed. Five wells were drilled to provide emergency supplies of water to 25,000 residents in Gaza city (Beach refugee camp and Al Nasser suburb), Khan Younis, and Nusseirat refugee camp, which were previously unserved areas. An awareness-raising campaign targeting at-risk populations on hygiene, food and water safety helped lower diarrhoea incidence. Siafa community, previously not served by piped-water systems or other potable water sources, was provided access to water. In Gaza, sanitation and safe drinking water facilities were upgraded in 342 schools (reaching 230,000 students), 10 hospitals and 25 health centres (reaching about 7,500 patients and hospital staff).

In the area of education, 10 schools in former enclaves or conflict zones received a comprehensive package, including lab and sports equipment, library furniture and books, computers, and training. To support the back-to-school programme, UNICEF procured emergency supplies worth US$ 4 million, including 380 school-in-a-box kits, 1,000 maths and science kits, 151,000 sets of remedial worksheets, 110,000 schoolbags with stationery, and 50,000 school uniforms.

During a period of unprecedented incursions and shelling, activities were organized to provide children with a much-needed respite from violence and stress.

To help adolescents overcome their frustration through meaningful programmes outside schools, UNICEF supported 15 adolescent-friendly learning spaces in larger cities that reached at least 20,000 adolescents aged 13-18 years, and 22 youth clubs in smaller towns or remote areas that offered learning as well as recreational activities. In deprived, isolated or incursion-prone areas 37 safe play spaces gave some 37,000 children aged 5-12 years opportunities to play in a safe environment, both indoor and outdoor.

In 2006, 12 psychosocial teams in the West Bank and Gaza have reached more than 50,000 children and 25,000 caregivers with skills on how to cope with violence. Twenty outreach centres were opened in Gaza following the fighting to provide individual counselling, as well as five sociolegal defence centres and three child protection networks involving the police, judiciary, social protection, and health and education sectors across the territory.

3. PLANNED HUMANITARIAN ACTION FOR 2007

In 2007, UNICEF’s humanitarian programme will focus on protecting children and women from the impact of the worsening humanitarian crisis, and on supporting the Palestinian Authority in its work to prevent and, where possible, reverse further declines in child well-being.

Health and nutrition (US$ 8,631,000)

Some 1.5 million children and mothers living in the most vulnerable areas in the West Bank and Gaza will benefit from the following key activities:

• Provide vaccines, immunization-related supplies and cold-chain equipment to reach all children aged 0-15 months, as well as more than 240,000 schoolchildren aged 6-15 years;

• Procure essential drugs for under-five children;

• Upgrade and provide equipment, supplies and medicine for neonatal units in hospitals;

• Provide tetanus toxoid to 75,000 women, covering 10 per cent of all women of reproductive age;

• Provide routine vitamin A and D supplementation to children aged 0-12 months;

• Train 600 mother and child health doctors, nurses and village health workers on growth monitoring, management of macro- and micro-nutrient deficiency, and young child feeding during emergencies;

• Assist the Ministry of Health in establishing an efficient drugs management information system, including training on effective procurement, forecasting, logistics, warehousing and distribution.

Water and environmental sanitation (US$ 4,345,100)

Some 1.7 million poorly served people will be reached through the following key activities:

• Rehabilitate/construct wells in some 40 primary schools in the West Bank and Gaza;

• Rehabilitate/construct 15 wells and boreholes, and install handpumps to provide safe drinking water to 1.4 million individuals in areas not reached by water networks;

• Rehabilitate/construct sanitation facilities for 10 schools and 10 clinics/hospitals, benefiting around 15,000 students and 5,000 patients;

• Supply 25 primary schools with two-cubic-metre water tanks and 15 hospitals/clinics with 3- or 10-cubic-metre water tanks;

• Distribute drinking water to 400 schools and 120 hospitals/clinics, reaching approximately 300,000 students and 35,000 patients;

• Rehabilitate 14 water networks, reaching more than 700,000 people.

Education (US$ 6,337,300)

Children, teachers and schools in most conflict-affected areas will benefit from the following activities:

• Provide 800 schools in Gaza and the West Bank with school-in-a-box and recreation kits for 50,000 primary school-aged students;

• Equip 300 primary schools, especially in Gaza, with teaching equipment;

• Provide needy schoolchildren with 200,000 schoolbags and stationery items and 50,000 uniforms and footwear;

• Orient 1,000 teachers on using remedial worksheets to enable children to keep up and catch up with their studies, as well as on how to use teaching and recreation kits. Orientation will also include improved teaching approaches and psychosocial counselling in emergency situations.

Adolescents (US$ 3,158,640)

Key interventions will include:

• Establish 16 adolescent-friendly learning spaces within larger cities to provide learning and recreational activities, and pro-actively reach out to marginalized adolescents. The centres will offer sessions over six-week periods in literacy, numeracy and information technology, music, sports and life skills benefiting 8,000 adolescents;

• Establish and rehabilitate 35 safe play areas in conflict-affected or deprived zones to offer regular, structured recreational activities for 35,000 younger children.

Child protection (US$ 3,366,815)

Children and caregivers suffering from conflict-related distress and violence will be the focus of the following activities:

• Establish 14 psychosocial emergency teams to reach 100,000 children and 50,000 caregivers with support aimed at strengthening their capacity to protect themselves and cope with violence. Caregivers will also learn skills to better support children in distress and foster healthy home environments;

• Support seven existing socio-legal defence centres and a toll-free line providing legal, psychological and social assistance to children who are victims of violence, conflict-related or otherwise;

• Organize ‘fun days’ and festivals in order to get children out of their homes and provide them with an outlet for stress;

• Conduct mine-risk education activities for 100,000 children and 40,000 adults.

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