From Crisis Recovery to State Building
The Special Representative's Introduction
The Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People was first set up by the United Nations Development Programme to help improve the social and economic condition of a people without a state and then switched its focus in 1993 to supporting the Palestinians' efforts at limited self-government and state-building in anticipation of the creation of a state.
Since then UNDP has made an indelible mark on the West Bank and Gaza. From Jenin in the north to Rafah in the south, there is not a single Palestinian community that does not benefit from a UNDP project.
The projects have included ministries, courts, hospitals, schools, power plants, roads, water and sanitation installations and homes, as well as employment generation and capacity development projects. In the absence of a national state, UNDP, in association with the Palestinian Authority and other agencies, has helped build up services that have maintained and improved Palestinian living conditions in spite of Israel's occupation and Palestinian population growth.
Support for the needs of the Palestinian people and their institutions has been combined with a focus on UNDP's global priorities. Issues such as climate change, the global recession, gender equality, youth issues and support for people with disabilities, are as important in the occupied Palestinian territory as anywhere else.
UNDP is working with its fellow UN agencies and the Palestinian Authority to create a framework for climate change adaptation. Poverty reduction and helping women play a larger role in the society and economy are central to UNDP's programmes.