Skip to main content

WFP Palestine Country Brief, July 2019

Countries
oPt
Sources
WFP
Publication date
Origin
View original

In Numbers

320,967 people assisted in July 2019

US$ 2.6 m cash-based transfers made

1,646 mt of food distributed

US$ 23.7 m six months (August 2019-January 2020) net funding requirements

Operational Updates

• In July, WFP assisted 239,521 and 81,446 poor food insecure people in Gaza and the West Bank respectively, with a combination of food and cash transfers using electronic food vouchers. WFP’s food assistance is a fundamental safety net that enables poor households to meet a share of their daily food needs and prevents them from falling into deeper poverty and food-insecurity.

• In Gaza, WFP expanded its beneficiary reach providing food vouchers to an additional 12,000 people facing deep poverty and severe food insecurity. The increase in assisted beneficiaries came in response to a worrying rise in humanitarian and food security needs in the enclave.

• After a six-month gap, and in tune with the collective priorities of the wider humanitarian community, WFP resumed its food voucher assistance to 785 vulnerable people residing in the H2 area of Hebron, in the southern West Bank. WFP monitoring findings brought evidence of an increase in the use of negative coping strategies ( food deprivation, debt accumulation, charity) among this group caused by the forced suspension of the assistance due to insufficient funding, . A recent humanitarian needs assessment spearheaded by OCHA highlighted the numerous protection, education, shelter and food security challenges encountered by Palestinians in the area.

• Using the global Food Insecurity Scale (FIES), the 2019 State of Food Insecurity (SOFI) in the World evaluates food insecurity in Palestine to affect more than one-fourth of the population (26.3 percent), representing an estimated 1.3 million people. This is within the range of the latest 2018 national estimates and calls for enhanced action toward fulfilling Palestinians’ fundamental human right to food.

• In contribution to SDG 17 ‘Partnerships for the SDGs’, WFP signed two new agreements wherein its cash-based transfer platform, network of accredited shops, and subsequent monitoring and oversight services, will be made available for the use of the international NGOs Action Against Hunger and Global Communities as they provide their own assistance to vulnerable Gazan communities. Through Global Communities, a total of 800 families received food in July.