PO Box 25141, Shu'fat
East Jerusalem, Via Israel
Tel: 00 972 2 830 013/4
Fax: 00 972 2 830 806
(Last Updated 1 December 1995.)
Special Representative: Dr. Gamini Abeysekera
Program Coordinator: Mr. Marilena Viviani
Early childhood development; primary education; non-formal education; health; youth and community development.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations organization dedicated exclusively to children, works with governments, non-governmental organizations (NGO's) and other United Nations agencies to promote the survival, protection and development of children in over 140 developing countries. In the developed countries, UNICEF National Committees promot advocacy for children and raise funds.
In particular, UNICEF works with its counterparts to identify the needs of children and to use the energies and capacities of individuals, families, communities and governments to helpd countreis address those needs. Over 80% of UNICEF staff work in the field, to support counterparts in providing services, secruing supplies and building local capacity.
UNICEF began a program for Palestinian women and children in the West Bank and Gaza in 1980, in response to the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1978 33/112B calling on UN agencies to provide humanitarian support to the Palestinian people. Cooperation initially focuses on the fields of child immunization, diarrhoeal disease control, early childhood development and water and sanitation.
The program was expanded in 1988 to include an emergency physiotherapy program to address the epidemic of traumatic injuries precipitated by the Palestinian uprising, or intifada. Working jointly with UNRWA, the program had treated more than 10,000 uprising casualties by the end of 1992.
In 1991, the UNICEF Executive Board request the Executive Director to ". . .continue to urgently assess the situation of Palestinian children and women and to provide funds commensurate with the expanding needs of these children and women. . ." A larger UNICEF operational presence resulted in expanded cooperation expanded along four major lines: primary health care, youth activities, primary education and early childhood development.
Cooperation focused on expanding and improving the quality of basic service delivery to children, youth and women, and on filling critical gaps in what was a continuous emergency situation. In the absence of a government counterpart, support center on UNRWA and the large network of complementary NGO's and local community groups. Community empowerment, strengthening the implementation capacity of local NGO's, and promoting cooperation among the disparate service providers, were particularly emphasized.
Following the Oslo Accord, and in response to the emergence of the Palestinian Authority with administrative responsibility for social services, UNICEF cooperation in the West Bank and Gaza has expanded in terms of scope and shifted in terms of approach and strategy. Short-term targeted assistance is giving way to longer-term national institution-building. Pilot activities in sectors such as youth are being expanded to scale. Developing a working relationship with the emergent Palestinian Authority, and helping build the capacity of the new Palestinian ministries and agencies have become major strategic emphasis of cooperation. Also following Oslo, UNICEF's presence in the West Bank and Gaza was upgraded. A Special Representative was appointed, and staffing levels were expanded.
The current COUNTRY PROGRAM OF COOPERATION for the period 1994-1995 was drafted just at the beginning of the peace process. It identified the following global strategies:
The Country Program was defined within the framework of the Palestinian Development Program and of the Palestinian National Health Plan. It was integrated into the overall framework of donor coordination initiatives.
The Country Program (1994-1995) identified five major components: Health, Primary Education, Youth and Community Activities, Early Childhood Development, Psychosocial Health, with a number of projects and sub-projects.
As per October 1995 the major sectors of cooperation continue to be primary health care, primary education, early childhood development, and youth and community development. Implementation takes place within the framework of the plans and policies of the Palestinian Authority and its sectoral ministries.
The program supports national efforts to provide children and youth with adequate health and nutritional care, with education, psychosocial counseling, and rehabilitation, with play and creative learning opportunities, and with basic skills for living.
Direct support to the Palestinian Authority is coupled with complementary support to local NGO's and community organizations. Palestinian civil society continues to provide a key social safety net, particularly in sectors poorly covered by the Palestinian Authority and UNRWA, and their effective integration into new national basic service delivery systems will be critical to ensuring basic needs are met during the transition period.
Support for capacity building of the PA institutions has become a priority for UNICEF, an the formulation of a National Program of Action (NPA) has become an immediate goal. This would ensure political and social mobilization as well as long-term planning for children.
In this context, UNICEF has supported the preparatory work for the NPA as well as the sectoral plans for social development. The NPA is currently being prepared by the PA and it represents an important planning tool for the social sector as well as a fund-raising mechanism and a framework for interagency coordination and cooperation.
The total Budget breakdown of the Program for 1994 and 1995 is the following:
The Special Representative manages the program and operations and liaises with other UN agencies and local and international NGO's. The Deputy/Planning Officer coordinates with all counterparts and facilitates the implementation of the program.
Elaine Clark
Educational Network, POB 66, Ramallah, West Bank
tel: 02 995 6230/fax: 02 995 6231 e-mail: eclark@ednet.birzeit.edu