National Early Recovery and Reconstruction Plan for Gaza 2014-2017_FINAL...

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3.1 Social Sector
Seven weeks of bombardment, seven years of blockade, and 25 years of movement restrictions have taken their toll on
Palestinians living in Gaza. Social services, including health and education, are overstretched by historical weaknesses and new
losses. Poverty, food insecurity, and social vulnerability have rocketed as a result of the mass displacement and destruction of the
population. Many households in Gaza can no longer live without external assistance, putting additional pressure on the social
protection system.
3.1.1 Social Protection and Social Safety Nets
Prior to the Assault
Decades of border restrictions and repeated assaults have destroyed livelihood opportunities and left most families in Gaza highly
vulnerable to further shocks. Eighty percent of people in Gaza depend on social assistance, while social transfers (both cash and
in-kind) have become an important source of income for the majority of households, accounting for approximately 16 percent
of total household consumption overall and 31 percent among the poorest households prior to the assault. Some 72 percent of
people were either food insecure or vulnerable to food insecurity, even when taking into account UN food distributions to almost
1.1 million people. For as long as the closure continues, levels of food insecurity will remain high.
Impact of the Assault
Gaza families have shown marked resilience to these stresses, drawing upon their extended community networks to provide
informal safety nets. However, the aftermath of this assault will strain those remarkable networks, as food prices soar, new families
fall into poverty, and others are pushed further down. Greater food insecurity now exists, exacerbated by massive displacement,
destruction in the agriculture/fishery sector, lack of cooking gas, fuel, and cooking utensils, and limited access to water.
Thousands of households have lost income sources (due to the death, disabling, or unemployment of workers) and homes
(with tens of thousands of houses destroyed or damaged). Some 1,500 children have lost one or both parents. Over 1,000 newly
injured people will be permanently disabled, creating greater social and financial responsibility on their family and social safety
nets. Psychosocial trauma is widespread, making recovering from loss a longer process for all, particularly children, bereaved
families, and inhabitants of the most impacted neighborhoods.