State of Palestine: Humanitarian Situation Report #9/07 August 2015 – UNICEF update

Reporting Period: 25 June – 31 July

Highlights

•  On 31 July, an 18-month old Palestinian child was killed during an arson attack in his home in the village of Duma, in the West Bank. UNICEF issued a statement condemning this and all forms of violence against children. The UN Secretary-General also issued a statement of condemnation and called for an end to impunity for repeated acts of settler violence.

• An Israeli airstrike struck militant targets in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip early on Thursday, 16 July after a rocket from the Gaza coastal area landed in southern Israel. A passerby was lightly hurt in Gaza, according to residents. The rocket struck open ground near the city of Ashkelon, no injuries or damages were reported.

• On 12 July, the Israeli authorities announced that they would seek to execute demolition orders of structures in the Palestinian village of Susiya in Area C. This comes ahead of a court hearing, scheduled for 3 August, on a directly related planning-approval process. The structures in area C that have outstanding demolition orders include 22 cisterns and 20 latrine units, two clinics, a school and a kindergarten. Half of these structures have been funded by international donors and provided as humanitarian assistance.

• All the UNRWA Collective Centers in Gaza were closed in June and the remaining IDPs were resettled in host families or temporary accommodations supported by housing rental subsidies and reintegration grants.

• Since January 2015, UNICEF's Adolescent Development and Participation programme has reached 26,008 adolescents (59% female) with skills development and civic engagement projects through its partners Al Nayzak, INJAZ, PalVision, Tamer, Save Youth Future Society and Ma'an Development Center. MA'AN and adolescents beneficiaries are leading a campaign jointly with other UNICEF partners to celebrate International Youth Day under the theme "Promote Youth Civic Engagement".

• Since the beginning of the year, 42,241 children (20,872 girls and 21,369 boys) and 24,457 caregivers (16,226 females and 8,231 males) have received Explosive Remnants of War (ERW) risk education through radio spots and awareness-raising in 24 Family Centres. In addition, 95,004 governmental primary school children have received ERW risk education as part of their school curriculum across Gaza.

Situation Overview

Today, in the State of Palestine, children and families are still struggling to recover from the violence that engulfed Gaza for over seven weeks during July and August 2014. The conflict killed 539 children and injured 2,956, leaving many struggling with life-long disabilities. More than 108,000 people, half of them children, were left homeless. Many continue to live amid ruins. Over 12,600 housing units were completely destroyed and rebuilding has yet to begin. As a result of the conflict, more than 308,000 children also remain in need of psychosocial support.

The UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) is facing a severe budget deficit of US$101 million, which if not covered in the coming weeks before the start of the school year, may affect its ability to operate its schools and professional training centers. On 29 July, UNRWA announced that a decision of whether or not to delay the start of the school year in its 700 schools had not yet been taken. If the funding situation is not resolved this would affect the return to school of approximately 500,000 students across its five areas of operation (Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank).

On 31 July, an 18-month old Palestinian child was killed during an arson attack in his home in the village of Duma, in the West Bank. UNICEF issued a statement condemning this and all forms of violence against children. The UN Secretary-General also issued a statement of condemnation and called for an end to impunity for repeated acts of settler violence.

Following the 12 July announcement by the Israeli authorities that it would seek to execute demolition orders of structures in the Palestinian village of Susiya in Area C, international pressure has been mounting to stop the demolition. On 23 July, the Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, Robert Piper, visited Susiya, accompanied by senior officials from the Governments of Norway, Switzerland and Italy and called on Israel to halt demolition plans. Susiya is currently home to 55 families, 28 of these families and all the community's public structures are located in Area C, where Israel maintains full control over planning and zoning. The humanitarian community has been preparing for different scenarios in order to provide assistance to about 330 people if needed.

The first truckloads of Qatari-funded fuel left from the Suez Canal in Egypt to the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, 28 July. An estimated one million liters of Qatari-funded fuel, shipped through the Kerem Shalom crossing, will be used to run the Gaza power station for 45 days using 45 megawatts daily. The current lack of electricity costs local businesses as factories and workshops are producing only 20 percent of their capacity. If the electricity crisis continues, 90 percent of Gaza's factories could be forced to shut down.

Humanitarian leadership and coordination

UNICEF, as part of the UN Country Team, coordinates with the Palestinian Government to support its role in humanitarian response, early recovery and reconstruction. In cooperation with the Government and other UN partners, UNICEF leads the Child Protection Working Group and affiliated groups on Mental Health and Psychosocial Services (MHPSS), and on monitoring and reporting of grave violations against children (Children and Armed Conflict reporting mechanism). UNICEF also leads the UN Theme Group on Social Protection, as well as the WASH cluster and co-leads the Education cluster with Save the Children, both in Gaza and at the national level and the Nutrition Working Group under the Health Cluster, in close collaboration with the MoH and WFP, in Gaza and at the national level.

Summary Analysis of Programme Response: per Sector

Communication and Social Media

A 51-day photo operation, #51days51children, was launched on 7 July to mark the one-year anniversary of the 51-day hostilities last year, as part of the ongoing #gaza4children campaign. It is running in UNICEF's social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) worldwide and social media in regional office, NYHQ and NatComs. The campaign aims to raise awareness on the ongoing needs of children in Gaza. UNICEF is on the ground, leading humanitarian and development programmes to help children and their families get back to a normal life.

Education and Adolescents

During the reporting period, more than 3,800 children from grades 5 and 6 participated in UNICEF-supported catch-up/remedial classes in 60 schools. The project started on 22 July and will run for 18 days during the summer holidays and will be resumed in October during the first semester of the new academic year. 240 Arabic and Math teachers (50% female) participated in the training organized for the remedial classes and were provided with soft copies of the worksheets, which they can use in their classes. In conjunction with the remedial classes, students also participate in

extra-curricular activities (arts, sports and physical education) to provide stress release and engage children by providing a better learning environment.

More than 1,300 mothers of children in 56 kindergartens, located in all the directorates in Gaza, participated in awareness-raising sessions on early childhood development. Topics included how to care for children in emergencies and other difficult circumstances, developmentally appropriate activities to support stress-relief, coping and stimulation, and how to prevent and address behaviour problems in young children.

A total of 137 Early Childhood Development kits were distributed to 120 kindergartens, 12 pre-school classes and 5 Ministry of Education training centers. A Training of Trainers is scheduled for pre-school teachers of 120 private kindergartens and the 12 existing government ones.

Child Protection 

As part of its efforts to strengthen child protection and social welfare systems, UNICEF has launched a case management process which includes registration, comprehensive assessment, planning, and follow-up over a period of weeks. The length of the follow-up process depends on the complexity of needs addressed, protection concerns and it is also tailored to specific cases and individual needs. The Ministry of Social Affairs Child Protection Networks, Tamer and Ma'an Family Centers are now receiving referrals for case management. Since January 2015, UNICEF-supported Family Centers and Child Protection Networks have reached 167 children (62 girls and 105 boys) with the case management approach.

UNICEF also supports the provision of child protection services through 23 Family Centres operating across the Gaza Strip. Since January 2015, 12,873 children (6,502 girls and 6,371 boys) and 18,521 caregivers (12,853 females and 5,668 males) were reached through life skills education and case management to respond to the needs of particularly vulnerable children who require multiple services. The family Centres and the emergency psychosocial teams also provide caregivers with awareness-raising sessions on child protection, and means to support the psychosocial development of their children.

Since January 2015, UNICEF, through the support of its child protection implementing partners, Ma'an Development Center, Tamer Institute for Community Education and the Palestinian Centre for Democracy and Conflict Resolution (PCDCR), was able to reach 33,049 children (16,819 girls and 16,230 boys) through structured/focused psychosocial support services, including individual and group counselling. In addition, 320 children (139 girls and 181 boys) were reached by UNICEF and the Gaza Community Mental Health Program (GCMHP) with specialized services.

During the second quarter of 2015, 32 education-related incidents such as attacks against schools and denial of access to education were documented in the West Bank, marking a decrease compared to the 55 incidents documented in the first quarter of 2015, in part due to the fact that the school year ended on the 30th May. The number of incidents affecting children in Gaza remained low as a result of the ceasefire of 26 August 2014. However, an increase was noted in the number of children injured near the Gaza fence and as a result of ERW detonations (13 children were injured in the second quarter of 2015 compared to three children in the first quarter). According to preliminary inputs provided by partners, since January 2015, 1,082 children were reached with structured group and individual counselling services and 166 children with specialized mental health services. In addition, 1,988 adults have benefited from structured psychosocial activities and counselling.

During the second quarter of 2015, the Child Protection Working Group, led by UNICEF, has documented 415 cases of grave violations against children, affecting at least 4,902 children. Violations include instances of killing and injuring, attacks against schools and hospitals, denial of humanitarian access for children, displacement as a result of demolitions (West Bank) and the ill-treatment of children in military detention. During the second quarter, 137 Palestinian children, 129 boys and eight girls, were injured and one boy was killed. Two Israeli boys were injured and none were killed.

Since the beginning of the year, 42,241 children (20,872 girls and 21,369 boys) and 24,457 caregivers (16,226 females and 8,231 males) were reached with ERW risk education messages through radio spots and awareness raising in the Family Centres. In addition, 95,004 governmental school children of primary school age received ERW risk education as part of their school curriculum in Gaza.

Water, Sanitation and Hygiene.

During the reporting period three generators were installed and are functioning at three different pumping stations in Gaza, namely in Bani Suhaila, Moghraqa and Zawaida, benefiting 30,000 people. The generators are supporting the day-to-day operation of WASH systems as the power plant halted its operation due to the lack of industrial fuel.

In July, UNICEF signed two partnership agreements with Action Contre la Faim (ACF) and Gruppo Volontario Civile (GVC) to distribute safe drinking water to approximately 30,000 people in the most vulnerable communities in water scarce areas in Area C, West Bank. Implementation will start in August 2015.

As a result of the shutdown of the Gaza Power Plant (GPP) on July 20, the WASH Cluster is anticipating urgent humanitarian needs for around 600,000 people that will not have access to water and sanitation services in highly vulnerable areas of the Gaza Strip. The Costal Municipality Water Utility (CMWU) is appealing to secure at least 250,000 liters of fuel monthly in order to maintain the WASH services operational and to mitigate public health risks.

Child Health & Nutrition

During the reporting period, UNICEF delivered 66 tons of drugs and consumables, which will be transmitted to the Ministry of Health once clearance for entry to Gaza has been granted. From this amount, 60% will be used immediately and the remaining 40% will be prepositioned in critical areas, including first aid kits.

Since January 2015, 32,037 women have benefitted from Breast-Feeding and Complementary Awareness sessions on mother and child care, while 2,940 mothers and new-borns have benefitted from specialized Post-Natal Home Visits (PNHV) as part of a programme conducting medical check-ups of high-risk mothers and new-borns. In order to scale up the PNHV Programme, post-natal child care was started in 18 clinics across the Gaza Strip. Mother and Child Health (MCH) clinics carry out medical check-ups of new-borns starting a week after birth, in addition to pre-natal and vaccination programmes.

As part of the training programme on achieving a high quality "acute flaccid paralysis" (AFP) surveillance system, 200 physicians enhanced their knowledge, skills and attitude through ten training workshops organised by UNICEF.

During the reporting period, a technical evaluation of 19 emergency supply items was completed as part of procurement processes and capacity building for the main emergency department at the Shiffa Hospital.

A joint programme between UNICEF and WFP will target 2,000 beneficiaries in Joher Eldeek, Shujaaya and Khozaa, which are some of the most vulnerable and affected areas in Gaza. The project includes provision of nutrition counseling on breastfeeding and complimentary feeding in addition to awareness on preventable communicable diseases. UNICEF will also provide technical support for WFP staff that is covering 300 households monthly with post distribution monitoring, on important health messages which can be disseminated while staff is in the field.

Summary of Programme Results

¹ The supply of water tanks and provision of materials for WASH rehabilitations is pending approval for Local Procurement.

² The indicator was changed to reflect the number of cases documented. Previously it was the number of children affected.

³ The voucher programme for school supplies and materials was expanded resulting in more beneficiaries than the target.

⁴ Protective presence activities will start as of July 2015.

⁵ Offshore procurement is in process.

Funding

Meeting the urgent humanitarian needs of affected children and families in the State of Palestine will contribute to reduced tensions and increased stability. In order to achieve this goal, additional funds are required to expand existing programmes that are being successfully implemented on the ground in the following sectors: Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Education /Adolescents, Child Protection, Social Protection, Health and Nutrition.

UNICEF wishes to express its deep gratitude to all public and private sector donors for the contributions and pledges received, which have made the current response possible. 'Un-earmarked' funding gives UNICEF essential flexibility to direct resources and ensure the delivery of life-saving supplies and interventions to where they are needed most. Continued donor support is critical to continue scaling up the response.

Note: Total funding available is $28,421,251 of which $23,064,763 is funding received against the appeal for this year, and $5,356,488 is budget carried forward from prior year.

Next Sit Rep: 4 September 2015

UNICEF State of Palestine: http://www.unicef.org/oPt/ 

UNICEF State of Palestine on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/u nicefstateofpalestine 

UNICEF State of Palestine on Twitter: https://twitter.com/UNICEFpalestine 

UNICEF Humanitarian Action for Children 2015: http://www.unicef.org/appeals/state of palestine.html 

Whom to contact for further information

Roben Picalli

HPM Specialist, UNICEF State of Palestine

Email: rpicalli@unicef.org
Email: cpasqualilasagni@unicef.org https://www.unicef.org/oPt  

https://www.facebook.com/unicefstateofpalestine

http://www.unicef.org/appeals/files/State_of_Palestine_Situation_Report_7Aug2015.pdf