Social assistance in the OPT – EU Development and Cooperation-EuropeAid paper/Non-UN document

Social cohesion

Social assistance in the occupied Palestinian territory

Support to vulnerable families through the EU's PEGASE mechanism

EC Partners

Palestinian Ministry of Social Affairs

Palestinian Ministry of Finance

Facts and Figures

EC contribution: €74 million

Duration: 2008-2009

35% of Palestinian households live under the official poverty line

“The social allowance provided by the EU is the only regular source of income for my family. I have six children, and two of them are mentally ill. One of my daughters is divorced and she lives with us with her son. The social allowance enables us to meet our basic needs, and we thank the EU for this help.”

Husni Mustafa Ridan, beneficiary of the social allowances programme

Context

As a result of the political and economic context in the occupied Palestinian territory, an increasing number of households have low, irregular or no income and are financially dependent on the Palestinian Authority's (PA) cash support programme, the “Social Hardship Case” (SHC). Through the PEGASE mechanism, the EU contributes to the SHC programme, to provide poor families with basic assistance in these difficult times.

Objective

Impact

Helping those who need it most

Raghda Irsan Sliman, social worker at the Ministry of Social Affairs:

“The social allowances for vulnerable Palestinian families go directly to those who need them the most. They used to be provided by the

Palestinian Authority, but when it was no longer able to do so the EU saved these families from sinking even deeper into poverty.”

“The economic situation in Palestine is very difficult, with increasing unemployment, the political situation, and the high cost of living. These factors make a growing number of people dependent on aid from the Palestinian Authority, and if it weren't for the EU, these vulnerable households would be left without any regular source of income at all.”