Malnutrition problem in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, response from the Commission
Parliamentary Questions
Written Question P-3906/02
Submission: Anna Karamanou (PSE) to the Commission
(20 December 2002)
Subject: Problem of malnutrition in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank
P-3906/02GR
Answer from Mr. Patten
on behalf of the Commission
(29.1.2003)
The Commission recently decided to allocate €10 million to support the emergency action programme (EMOP) No. 10190 of the World Food Programme through the food security budget, aimed at addressing the needs of the victims of the conflict in the Palestinian Territories. The beneficiaries are approximately 360,000 vulnerable and needy individuals from the Palestinian population. These include children under five years old, pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers, elderly people, individuals with special needs, and those with chronic illnesses. These individuals were eligible for the social assistance programme (in cash and in-kind) of the Palestinian Ministry of Social Affairs, a programme that had to be discontinued due to the ongoing crisis.
The products to be distributed from the Commission’s resources include wheat flour, rice, lentils, sugar, vegetable oil, and olive oil. To ensure flexibility and rapid procurement according to the plan of the Emergency Programme (PEP), these goods will be distributed and secured partly through the Commission from the member states and partly directly through the PEP from the Palestinian Territories and neighboring countries.
As part of the emergency action programme No. 10072 of the WFP, which was completed in August 2002, the Commission had allocated €5 million to purchase approximately 7,400 metric tons of wheat flour and 3,200 metric tons of rice to address similar humanitarian needs.
Through these actions, the Commission’s contribution to these two programs was the largest (the donor table for the Palestinian territory is sent directly to the Honourable Member and to the Secretariat of the Parliament).
Since the mid-1990s, the Commission has been funding an annual program of food and economic assistance for the vulnerable Palestinian refugee population. The total amount of aid in 2002 amounted to €15 million. The program operates under the responsibility of UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency) and covers five areas: specifically, Jordan, Lebanon, the Syrian Arab Republic, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. The program provides assistance to approximately 224,000 special cases, as well as to 105,000 pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, and their children, 500 tuberculosis patients, widows and their families, orphans, the elderly, the disabled, etc. The beneficiaries of this program in the Palestinian Territories are 73,000 in the Gaza Strip and 31,000 in the West Bank. A recent evaluation study conducted for the program highlighted the importance of nutrition and the supplementary elements of the food program. These include the provision of dry rations to women entering the fifth month of pregnancy up to one year after childbirth, and iron supplements for preschool-aged children and women of reproductive age at mother and child centers.
To update available data on food security, the Commission, in close cooperation with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the WFP, UNRWA, as well as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and its partners, is in the process of finalizing the terms of reference for a comprehensive food security assessment that will cover both urban and rural areas, as well as refugee and non-refugee populations living in the Palestinian Territories. The mission will study and analyze issues related to the adequacy of available food supplies and access to food in the Palestinian Territories, and will make recommendations to the Palestinian Authority for better coordination of international community efforts to address food insecurity. The mission is expected to begin in early 2003. It will consist of a core team from the FAO and national experts.