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Source: United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
30 April 2010


April Highlights
Overview

The Oslo II Accords signed in 1995 established the Palestinian Authority (PA) and divided the West Bank into three administrative areas known as "A", "B", and "C". Though the interim arrangements were to lead to a gradual transfer of power to the PA, Area C, which makes up 60 per cent of the West Bank, remains under Israeli security and administrative control.

The dwellings of approximately 150,000 Palestinians are either partially or totally built in this area. The construction of the barrier, expansion of Israeli settlements, and displacement of Palestinian communities over the past decade, combined with drought, have forced herding communities in Area C to rely on bought fodder and tankered water. Poverty and disease rates among the Palestinian herder and Bedouin families of this area are higher than in the rest of the West Bank, especially among children.

Although the PA is responsible for service provision, difficulties in obtaining permits from the Israeli Civil Administration for the construction of schools, health clinics or water and sanitation infrastructure, along with severe restrictions on access and movement around Area C, significantly impedes its ability to deliver services.

Throughout the survey, data from herding households in Area C is compared with the West Bank average as a whole, in order to illustrate the extent of exclusion and vulnerability.

Area C herding communities survey findings

Snapshot of poverty: Average monthly incomes among the herding communities in Area C have shrunk to NIS 1,024 (US$277), less than half the average West Bank monthly income of NIS 2,554 (US$690).

Sixty-five per cent of the households surveyed live in caves or makeshift dwellings made of concrete cinder blocks, metal sheeting or cardboard. Twenty-five per cent live in tents. By comparison, 96 per cent of all West Bank Palestinians live in houses or apartments.

Forty-one per cent of household surveyed have no electricity compared to just one per cent of all families in the West Bank without electricity.

At most, 68 per cent have a kitchen and of these only 20 per cent have running water compared to 97 per cent of West Bank households which have kitchens and piped water.

While nearly all West Bank families have a bathroom with piped water, at most 66 per cent of Area C households surveyed have a bathroom and of these only 20 per cent have running water. Between 59 and 70 per cent have a toilet and of these, only 20 per cent have running water.

Food security

Seventy-nine per cent of Area C herding families are food insecure, meaning they live on less than US$4.70 per adult equivalent per day. This is more than three times the proportion of the overall West Bank Palestinian population (25 per cent) who are food insecure and higher than in Gaza (61 per cent).

Families who live in the “Seam Zone”, caught between Israel’s barrier to their east and the 1949 Green Armistice Line to the west, are the most vulnerable with 88.5 per cent classified as food insecure.

Bedouin and Palestinian herders in Area C spend 62 per cent of their household budget on food.

Food insecure families said their main problem was difficulty accessing water (73 per cent).

Nutrition

Forty-three per cent of families rely on bread, rice, potatoes, sugar and oil to sustain them each day. They eat vegetables four days in seven and animal products are rarely consumed. Just 10 per cent of West Bank families overall eat like this.

Area C children are three to five times more likely to be malnourished. Six per cent aged between six and 59 months are wasted, 15 per cent are underweight and 28.5 per cent are stunted compared to West Bank averages of two per cent, three per cent, and eight per cent respectively.

Thirty eight per cent of children aged six to 17 months are stunted. WHO guidelines warn that stunting rates between 20 and 40 per cent are serious and levels above 40 per cent are critical.

Area C children are three to four times more likely to contract diseases related to poor nutrition and poor hygiene. Forty-four per cent of children aged 6-59 months had suffered diarrhoea compared to 11.5 per cent across the West Bank.

Further, 48 per cent of Area C children had, at least once, contracted an acute respiratory infection (ARI), one of the five leading causes of deaths among young children in oPt.

Ninety three per cent of Area C children do not eat the recommended five meals per day. Forty one per cent eat just two meals a day.

The introduction of complementary fluids to almost half (48.8 per cent) of infants 0-6 months old instead of exclusive breast-feeding as recommended by WHO and UNICEF, coupled with challenges in accessing safe water, pose immediate and long-term health risks for children. Almost half of mothers, 46.2 per cent, said they stopped breast-feeding because they were pregnant.

About 13 per cent of infants receive fluids and foods in their first three months and the introduction of complementary foods escalates sharply after that. Only 42.6 per cent of the infants received complementary foods (fluids and soft foods) at the appropriate age of 6-8 months.

Coping mechanisms

Herder and Bedouin families in Area C are accustomed to enduring hardship. Seventy-two per cent and 63 per cent respectively said that when their child had diarrhoea or coughing, hospital services were not needed.

Between 94 and 97 per cent said hospitalisation was unnecessary when someone broke a bone. Seventy-eight to 80 per cent said follow-up health care was unnecessary a week after contracting a chronic disease.

Up to 63 per cent said vaccination was unnecessary, 70 to 85 per cent said maternal health check-ups weren't needed and 85 to 96 per cent said access to health services for family planning was also unnecessary.

Yet many households are now reporting they don¡¦t have enough money or food. A massive 93 per cent of surveyed households in Area C are in debt. Eighty-two per cent rely on credit of which 60 per cent use it to buy food compared to 47 per cent of West Bank families. Nearly a third has sold productive assets to fund food purchases.

Parents say they are cutting rations to give children more. Eighty-one per cent report spending less on food; 94 per cent are buying poorer quality food; 86 per cent are cutting the quantity they are buying; and 93 per cent have cut their consumption of meat.

Forty per cent had not paid utility bills (water and electricity) for six months. More than 50 per cent of households said they had cut health and education spending so they can eat.

UNICEF 2010 Nutrition Programme

UNICEF works with government, national and international agencies, and civil society to support equitable access to nutrition services, and targeted assistance to vulnerable groups and those with special needs. Programmes focus on an integrated package of low-cost, low-technology and high impact interventions such as micronutrient supplementation, and the promotion of improved breast-feeding and hygiene practices within households.

In oPt, UNICEF supports MoH efforts to scale up capacity and coverage through technical assistance at household, community and health facility levels. During 2010, UNICEF will:

Marginal Lives
Five-year-old Amamah Tourkman lives in a tent without electricity or running water in the remote rocky West Bank mountains bordering the Jordan Valley. Her mother says that she hasn’t been vaccinated, and neither have her seven siblings, because the clinic is too far and there’s no public transportation. Next year, when she turns six, she will walk the 12 kilometres to and from the nearest school.

A Long Walk to School
Students walking home from school near Wadi Shobash, in Jenin. Learning conditions are an increasingly urgent priority for the marginalized and vulnerable communities living in Area C. Many school structures, including tents, tin shacks and crude cement buildings, fall far short of basic safety and hygiene standards, with little protection from either the heat or the cold.

Rebuilding Lives in Gaza
Around 250 children and 50 caregivers come to the Ajyal Al-Mostaqbal family centre in Rafah each day for psychosocial support, learning and recreational activities in a protective environment. For many of them, it has been a long road to recovery since “Cast Lead”. The family centre is one of 20 set up across Gaza by UNICEF and Save the Children Sweden to provide a broad range of support to children and caregivers. To see a photoessay of a day inside the Ajyal Al Mostaqbal family centre visit http://www.unicef.org/oPt/6086.html


Basic Indicators



1
Total population (2010)
West Bank
Gaza
4,048,403
2,513,283
1,535,120
PCBS estimates, 2010

2


Child population (under 18 years, 2010)
West Bank
Gaza
1,971,824
1,172,483
799,341
PCBS estimates, 2010

3


Child population (under 5 years, 2010)
West Bank
Gaza
596,729
344,900
251,829
PCBS estimates, 2010

4


Child population (under 1 year, 2010)
West Bank
Gaza
128,242
73,319
54,923
PCBS estimates, 2010

5


GNI per capita (US$, 2007)
1230
The State of the World’s Children
2010, UNICEF

6


People living below the national poverty line
(%, 2007)±
West Bank
Gaza
39.6
23.6
55.7
PCBS, Poverty and Living Conditions
in the Palestinian Territory, 2007

Health and Nutrition



7


Under 5 mortality rate (per 1,000 live births, 2006)
West Bank
Gaza
28
26
32
PCBS, Palestinian Family
Health Survey, 2006

8
Infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births, 2006)
West Bank
Gaza

25
23
29
PCBS, Palestinian Family
Health Survey, 2006

9


Maternal mortality ratio (per 100,000 live births, 1995)
70-80
PCBS, 1995

10
Children 12-23 months fully immunised (%, 2006)
West Bank
Gaza
96.4
94.4
99.4
PCBS, Palestinian Family
Health Survey, 2006

11
Children 12-23 months immunised against measles (%, 2006)
West Bank
Gaza

97.0
95.0
99.4
PCBS, Palestinian Family
Health Survey, 2006

12
Stunting prevalence (moderate and severe) among under-5 (%, 2000-2007*)
10
The State of the World’s
Children 2010, UNICEF

13


Wasting prevalence (moderate and severe) among under-5 (%, 2000-2007*)
1
The State of the World’s
Children 2010, UNICEF

14
Malnutrition prevalence (underweight) (moderate and severe/severe (%, 2000-2007*)
West Bank
Gaza
2.9
3.2
2.4
PCBS, Palestinian Family
Health Survey, 2006

15


Births attended by skilled health personnel (% , 2006)
West Bank
Gaza
98.6
98.2
99.3
PCBS, Palestinian Family
Health Survey, 2006

HIV and AIDS



16
Prevalence of HIV/AIDS
No data

Water and Sanitation



17
Use of improved drinking water sources (%)
West Bank
Gaza

86.3
100.0
93.8
PCBS, Household Environment
Survey database, 2003-2006

Education



18
Use of improved sanitation facilities (%)
West Bank
Gaza

99.2
99.7
PCBS, Household Environment
Survey database, 2003-2006

19
Literacy rate of 15-24 year olds (Total/Male/Female; %; 2006)
West Bank
Gaza

99.1//99.1/99.0
99.1/99.2/99.1
99.0/99.1/98.9
PCBS, Labor Force Survey
Database, 1995-2007

20
Proportion of pupils starting grade 1 who reach last grade of primary
West Bank
Gaza
99.3
99.0
99.5
PCBS, Education Census,
1994/1995 - 2006/2007

21
Primary net enrolment ratio (Total/Male/Female; %; 2006)
West Bank
Gaza

83.9/84.7/83.1
82.7/81.7/83.6
85.8/89.3/82.2
PCBS, Education Census,
1994/1995 - 2006/2007

End Notes
± PCBS uses two measures of poverty: Deep Poverty (absolute) and Poverty.
*The Deep Poverty line reflects a budget for food, clothing and housing only. For a family of six the deep poverty line in 2006 was NIS 1,837. The Poverty line adds other necessities including health care, education, transportation, personal care and housekeeping supplies; raising the line to NIS 2,300 for a family of 6. Thus, the percentage of households in Poverty includes those in deep poverty.


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