Against the backdrop of rapidly rising tension, violence, poverty and alarming unemployment rates reaching 60%, the United Nations said in a press release that it is moving urgently to create employment opportunities and develop economic recovery initiatives for youth and women in the Gaza Strip.
The objective of these cumulative initiatives focuses on improved livelihoods, enhanced access to productive assets, and provision of basic services for the population in the Gaza Strip, as part of a broader UN coordinated international effort to urgently lower tensions and prevent another armed conflict in Gaza, Palestine News Agency reported.
In this context, the United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East, Nickolay Mladenov “continues to work closely with the Palestinian Authority, the occupying regime of Israel, Egypt and other regional and international partners to prevent another violent explosion, support the return of the PA to Gaza and resolve all humanitarian issues.”
As part of its commitment to support the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip, UNDP’s program of assistance to the Palestinian people is implementing various employment generation interventions to mitigate the impact of the harsh socio-economic conditions.
First, UNDP said it will be creating more than 2,500 immediate and short-term job opportunities over a 12-month period, directly benefiting 2,979 people, with the aim of ensuring that 40% of job placements are women.
Projects will cover youth engagement through entrepreneurship and start-ups, e-work and outsourcing, business support, vocational and technical training as well as skills development. This is a part of an on-going UNDP initiative in Gaza through the Palestinian Families Economic Empowerment Program.
“Second, a rapid employment scheme was also recently launched covering approximately 1,500 young men and women, including persons with disabilities, who benefit from short to medium term employment opportunities. These include apprenticeships for improved public services, recruitment of lifeguards, upgrading of municipal GIS systems, in addition to enabling 420 fishermen to reclaim their livelihoods,” the UNDP added.
The scheme is funded by contributions from the Islamic Development Bank ($2 million), the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation ($1.2 million), and UNDP ($300,000).
