OPEC Fund extends grant to civil society orgs in the West Bank – OPEC Fund press release/Non-UN document

OPEC FUND EXTENDS US$1.275 MILLION GRANT TO EASE SOCIAL DISTRESS IN PALESTINE

111/2004

December 14, 2004

Vienna, Austria

The OPEC Fund for International Development today approved a grant of US$1.275 million to support the activities and services of 13 civil society organizations in Palestine’s West Bank. The aim is to assist the poorest and hardest hit communities by addressing shortages and helping to meet some of their most urgent needs.

Conditions in Palestine remain grim, with the enforcement of curfews, closures and movement restrictions disrupting the economy and undermining the territories’ social fabric. As poverty and unemployment levels escalate, normal coping strategies are being exhausted, and thousands of families face crisis.  

Civil society organizations play a critical role in this emergency by acting as a social safety net and providing assistance at grassroots level to the weakest members of the community.

The Fund’s grant will be drawn from its Special Grant Account for Palestine and divided among 13 Palestinian NGOs working across a wide range of social sectors and addressing needs such as mental health care, youth protection, vocational training for women, child care, health care, early childhood development and rehabilitation services for disabled youngsters.

It is the seventh grant approved from the Account, which was set up in 2002 with an initial endowment of US$10 million and replenished earlier this year with an additional US$15 million. Previous grants have helped finance the rehabilitation and construction of damaged homes and public buildings, the purchase of emergency medical equipment and assistance to Palestinian universities, together with a number of social and capacity-building projects.