UNDP Signs USD 10 Million Agreement with USAID for Rubble Removal in Gaza
Jerusalem, 16 December 2014 – UNDP’s Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) signed a USD 10 million agreement to remove rubble and debris in the Gaza Strip.
The USAID contribution will enable UNDP to clear around 65% (649,177 tonnes) of the rubble generated in hard hit areas in Rafah, Khan Younis, Gaza City and northern governorates. The project will be implemented over a period of one year and will generate approximately 116,852 workdays.
UNDP Special Representative of the Administrator, Frode Mauring, highlighted UNDP’s support to the Gaza population in improving the livelihoods and rebuilding their communities. “UNDP has a sustained commitment to Gaza’s reconstruction and clearing the rubble is a prerequisite for the rebuilding and recovery process,” he added.
UNDP estimates that around two million tonnes of rubble have been generated during the 51 day Israeli military operation on Gaza, which is three times more than the amount of rubble generated during Cast Lead.
The removal of rubble will enable more than one million people in the targeted areas to have access to basic services, particularly water and sanitation, reduce the risk of collapsing buildings and the threat of UXOs and other remnants of war.
It is worth noting that USAID’s contribution will bring the total amount of funding for UNDP’s Emergency Rubble Removal Programme to USD 13.7 million out of approximately USD 20 million.
UNDP’s Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People is responding to the Gaza crisis by enhancing livelihoods through emergency employment, rubble removal, repairing essential infrastructure, restoring solid waste services and providing institutional support towards a unified civil service and institutional harmonization.
Contact Information
Dania Darwish, Communications Specialist, Tel. +972-2-6268229 – e-mail: dania.darwish@undp.org. For more information on UNDP/PAPP see this website.
Document Sources: UNDP Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People (PAPP), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
Country: United States of America
Subject: Armed conflict, Assistance, Gaza Strip, Humanitarian relief, Internally displaced persons, Living conditions, Protection
Publication Date: 16/12/2014
