The World Bank granted $30 million to West Bank Palestinians made economically vulnerable by COVID-19 or whose impoverished situation was worsened by the pandemic.
According to the World Bank at least 68,000 Palestinian household have been harmed economically by the pandemic.
Some $20 million of the new grant will go to helping those families through the bank’s Cash Transfer Project, which prior to COVID-19 already had 21,400 households on its roster.
Assistance to this program is particularly important because due to the PA’s economic crisis it was unable to provide money for the program during the second quarter of 2020.
Another $8 million will be used to fund 3,000 short-term jobs with the help of non-governmental organizations, the bank said. Fifty percent of these new jobs will go to women.
“The COVID-19 pandemic constitutes an unprecedented challenge with very severe socio-economic consequences in an already struggling Palestinian economy,” said Kanthan Shankar, World Bank country director for West Bank and Gaza. “Social protection becomes a priority for the World Bank in the context of increased poverty and job losses. The new project aims to reduce the impact of the shock on workers and households through income protection and provides alternative employment for those out of work.”
Friederike Uta Rother, World Bank senior social protection specialist and project task team leader added:“The combination of emergency financial relief and temporary jobs in social services in the West Bank will not only help ensure a dignified life but will also continue to allow for investment in human capital despite the challenging conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic."
