Udenrigsudvalget 2023-24, Det Udenrigspolitiske Nævn 2023-24
URU Alm.del Bilag 75, UPN Alm.del Bilag 61
Offentligt
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UNDP’s Programme of Assistance
to the Palestinian People
Proposed Emergency Response
to the Gaza Crisis
November 2023
The war in Gaza is a “crisis of humanity”. The entire population of 2.2 million of Palestinians in Gaza are now in
critical need of aid. More than 10,000 people have been killed, and thousands more have been injured. Since the
beginning of the war, more than 1.5 million Gazans have fled their homes and have become internally displaced. As
is often the case in conflicts, the most vulnerable civilians, and in particular women, children, and persons with
disabilities, bear the heaviest brunt. Homes, hospitals, schools and other critical services infrastructure have been
reduced to rubble. In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the security situation has been rapidly deteriorating
as well. The number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank in one month since 7 October accounts for more than
one-third of all Palestinian fatalities in the West Bank in 2023.
According to the latest UNDP/ESCWA rapid assessment, “The Gaza War: Expected Socio-Economic Impacts on the
State of Palestine”, the war in Gaza has already caused massive loss of life and infrastructure damage. These losses
will have short- and long-term socioeconomic consequences, long-term deprivation, and a reduction in human
development that is propagating to the whole of the occupied Palestinian territory.
If the war goes on, by the end of the second month:
POVERTY RATE
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT
ECONOMIC LOSSES
Increase
by 34%
Set back by 16 years
in the oPt and 19 years in Gaza
Would mount to
US$1.7 billion
UNDP/PAPP Planned Response to the Gaza Crisis
UNDP/PAPP has been operating in Gaza since 1989 and has proven expertise in rapidly deploying
emergency response and early recovery interventions in the aftermath of repeated escalations of
hostilities (e.g., 2008-2009, 2014, 2021, 2023). At present, as the war is ongoing and there is
continued heavy bombardment throughout Gaza, only lifesaving activities are feasible. UNDP’s full
emergency response will be scaled up as soon as the security and operational environment allows.
 UPN, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 61: Baggrundsmateriale til briefingen med UNDP om situationen i Gaza den 15. december 2023
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The following immediate life-saving activities are planned
for implementation in Gaza even during the war:
Deployment of critical sta to health facilities and municipalities through emergency
employment/cash for work modality to provide critical services (e.g. life-saving health, waste, water
and electricity);
Provision of health emergency support, including medical supplies;
Deployment of youth volunteers to provide psychosocial relief in shelters.
Supply of mobile o -grid solar-operated desalination units that serve IDP communities;
Provision of support through the Egyptian Red Crescent;
In order to ensure that the response and recovery e orts prioritise the most
pressing needs, UNDP/PAPP in collaboration with other UN agencies and national
partners, has begun assessments including the following:
Socio-Economic Impact of the War on oPt: regionally-led rapid assessment in collaboration with ESCWA (and
UNOSAT) to determine the socio-economic consequences of the war on Gaza, with key economic indicators.
Detailed Gaza Infrastructure Damage Assessment: implemented in coordination with humanitarian clusters and
national partners on the ground, in-depth assessment of damages to socio-economic infrastructure (e.g. health
facilities, schools, utilities, housing, and municipal facilities) providing estimates for financial resources required for
rehabilitation and reconstruction.
Series of In-depth Economic Impact Assessments for oPt: local assessment in collaboration with ILO and others,
focusing on jobs, livelihoods and private sector - for Gazans, Gazan workers in Israel, West Bank workers in Israel.
 UPN, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 61: Baggrundsmateriale til briefingen med UNDP om situationen i Gaza den 15. december 2023
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Once necessary resources are mobilised and the security situation allows, the
following interventions can be implemented in Gaza based on assessment
findings, particularly focusing on the most vulnerable including women and
persons with disabilities:
Management of debris and rubble to safely remove rubble to allow for the unimpeded
passage of ambulances and access to critical services, and reuse in rehabilitation
activities.
Provision of temporary shelter/housing solutions for families whose homes have been
destroyed or damaged.
Support to emergency health, including essential medical supplies and/or equipment for
hospitals and other healthcare facilities, and Mobile Health Clinics to provide emergency
care until health facilities are rehabilitated.
Expanding emergency employment and cash for work opportunities to ensure continued
delivery of essential public services, particularly in the areas of health and municipal
services, as well as education and critical private sector services.
Scaling up of mobile establishment of mobile o -grid solar-operated desalination units.
Repair of essential basic infrastructure such as water and sanitation facilities while
mainstreaming solar energy solutions and energy e ciency as possible to attain
sustainability.
Immediate rehabilitation of housing for families whose homes were damaged during the
hostilities.
Provision of support to small scale producers in Gaza
 UPN, Alm.del - 2023-24 - Bilag 61: Baggrundsmateriale til briefingen med UNDP om situationen i Gaza den 15. december 2023
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Unlike past hostilities, the war has destroyed entire neighborhoods. UNDP/PAPP will adopt an
area-based integrated approach to crisis response and recovery. The areas will first be cleared
from rubble upon safe removal of Explosive Remnants of War. Based on an assessment of the
infrastructure and economic damages, UNDP/PAPP will work with partners to develop a
comprehensive plan to enable the return of internally displaced persons to their original
neighbourhoods. This would include clearing the roads, reinstating water-sanitation and
electricity networks, providing alternative temporary shelter solutions (e.g., prefabricated
housing units), and rehabilitating partially damaged housing units. UNDP/PAPP plans to
integrate solar energy solutions to power the services and utilise cash for work modality to
provide emergency income generation opportunities for those a ected by the crisis.
The impact of the Gaza war is not only a ecting the people of Gaza, but is having a profound e ect on the
Palestinians in the West Bank as well. UNDP/PAPP’s comprehensive approach will include lifeline support, legal aid
and job opportunities for Gazan workers stranded in the West Bank, as well as support to workers impacted
economically in the West Bank as a result of increased instability and movement restrictions, such as olive growers.
UNDP/PAPP will employ an all-of-oPt approach. For example, lifeline support to stranded workers (e.g., clothing,
hygiene kits) may be supplied by merchants and small businesses in Jerusalem’s Old City and women-led social
enterprises to support their economic resilience. Additional activities may include support to civil society
organisations and digital solutions to address emerging issues and needs (e.g., monitoring of incitement to violence
and misinformation on digital/online platforms).
UNDP/PAPP has proven expertise and operational capacities to implement the Emergency Response Programme.
While complexities and limitations of the current operational context augment and persist, mitigation measures are
in place and UNDP is continuously adapting its preparation and implementation approaches to the prevailing
situation on the ground.
UNDP/PAPP will implement its Gaza Emergency Response Programme in close coordination with UN entities, the
Resident Coordinator/Humanitarian Coordinator, and national and international partners to amplify synergies and
complementarities.
UNDP’s Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People (PAPP) was established through a resolution adopted by the UN
General Assembly on 20 December 1978, calling upon UNDP “to improve the economic and social conditions of the Palestinian
people”. UNDP/PAPP’s Palestinian Programme Framework 2023 – 2025, aligned with the UN Cooperation Framework, is
centered on the concept of “Transformative Resilience” with integrated and cross-sectoral programming in the following areas: i)
Democratic Governance and Quality Services; ii) Inclusive Economic Opportunities; iii) Sustainable Natural Resources
Management. The total delivery for the past five years (2018 – 2022) was $340 million, and the total value of on-going
programming is around $288 million.