Over fifty years of occupation, economic stagnation and internal political deadlock have led to a situation in which approximately 2.4 million Palestinians need humanitarian assistance due to conflict, displacement and the denial of access to livelihoods, amidst a host of other humanitarian challenges.
A significant majority of those who need humanitarian assistance live in the Gaza Strip, where a protracted blockade continues to impact every aspect of life. Public infrastructure is continually starved of the materials and investment required to meet the needs of a growing population. Access to safe drinking water and electricity remain extremely limited.
Amidst frequent rounds of peace talks with limited success, combined with internal political divisions and the dramatic drop in funding for key humanitarian actors, it has never been more vital for humanitarian and development actors to provide a lifeline to Palestinian families.
ACTED in occupied Palestinian Territory
In 2019....
ACTED addresses both the humanitarian needs and development challenges in oPt through a nexus approach. This includes emergency support to vulnerable households living in substandard conditions through shelter rehabilitation and provision of non-food items as well as addressing WASH needs at community and household level, including the rehabilitation of WASH facilities in schools and medical centers.
More recently, ACTED has been mitigating the spread of Covid-19 by providing hygiene and disinfection materials to quarantine centers in the Gaza Strip and raising awareness among communities. Beyond humanitarian needs, ACTED is also working to unlock economic growth in oPt by harnessing the potential of digital innovation to generate inclusive employment opportunities for young graduates and entrepreneurs. Looking ahead, ACTED will further this work through support to circular economy initiatives and by building the resilience of micro, small and medium enterprises across oPt.
In oPt, ACTED is currently implementing a project that addresses zero exclusion through digital innovation.
Digital interactions can help overcome traditional obstacles for the most vulnerable groups, including women and people with disabilities. The project is contributing to the creation of inclusive employment opportunities by increasing both supply and demand in the field of digital technologies through the provision of digital training and tools for young Palestinian graduates, and technical, material and financial support to digital institutions and entrepreneurial initiatives in oPt. The project is directly benefiting 2,500 people, including 750 women and 125 people with disabilities. Eight digital institutions are being equipped and rehabilitated, facilitating access to digital technologies for around 800 people.
ACTED oPT 2017 © Wissam Sameer Mahmoud Nassar
A woman harvesting her peas field. She started to cultivate her land again for the first time since the conflict in Gaza in 2014, after receiving rehabilitation support and agricultural inputs from ACTED and local partner ACAD - ACTED oPT 2017 © Wissam Sameer Mahmoud Nassar
Tens of thousands of families in Gaza live in houses which don't meet basic shelter standards and can pose safety risks for occupants. ACTED is working hard to renovate such shelters.
For communities internally displaced within the often arid Area C of the West Bank, NGOs like ACTED have to work fast to reconnect such communities with a clean and safe water supply.
In Gaza, ACTED is particularly active in agriculture, especially important given the high population and scarcity of available farming land.
ACTED staff follow up to monitor ongoing shelter renovations in Gaza.
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