State of Palestine country strategic plan (2023–2028)

CSP approved at EB February 2023 session 

Revision 01 approved by the ED in June 2023

Over the past five years, socioeconomic conditions in the State of Palestine have deteriorated and a protracted protection and humanitarian crisis has undermined the food security of millions of Palestinians. Sustained restrictions on trade, movement and access to resources, coupled with escalating conflict and a stalled peace process, have led to economic stagnation and a protracted fiscal crisis that hinders recovery from the shocks of the past decade and prevents sustainable development. Exacerbated by the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, the deteriorating situation is particularly pronounced in the Gaza Strip, which suffered yet further from the escalation that occurred there in May of 2021.

The compound impacts of multiple shocks have stretched national resources and capacity, negatively affecting the attainment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Rising inflation, linked to the pandemic and now also spurred by the Ukraine crisis, has contributed to reductions in the purchasing power of Palestinians and increased food insecurity.

In the prevailing socioeconomic context, the State of Palestine faces the following drivers of food insecurity, to which this country strategic plan will respond: high unemployment rates and limited livelihood opportunities resulting in limited access to income and good-quality and nutritious food, particularly in the Gaza Strip and especially among women, youth and persons with disabilities; entrenched sociocultural gender inequality that impedes women’s economic opportunities, financial inclusion and food and nutrition security; reduced national food production and increased reliance on food imports resulting from restricted access to natural resources, the impacts of climate change and limited knowledge and adoption of appropriate technological innovations; and the dependence of the Palestinian Authority on external funding, which limits the coverage of the national social protection system, leaving it unable to respond to growing poverty.

Building on the strengths of the country strategic plan for 2018–2022, under this new plan for 2023–2028 WFP will address the needs of Palestinian communities through a humanitarian-development–peace nexus approach, responding to immediate humanitarian needs and simultaneously addressing longstanding socioeconomic vulnerability. WFP will maintain its large-scale distributions of unconditional food assistance, providing customized and equitable access to food through tiered assistance while linking skilled Palestinians to labour markets and promoting self-reliance. Successfully piloted livelihood interventions will be mainstreamed, and women, youth and people with disabilities will be encouraged to participate in activities that improve their access to livelihood opportunities. WFP will help to improve the capacity of national systems and institutions, thereby enabling food-insecure Palestinians to benefit from improved needs-based targeting, more efficient and effective delivery mechanisms and shock-responsive social protection programmes that are sensitive to nutrition, gender and disability considerations.

This country strategic plan for 2023–2028 is fully aligned with the State of Palestine’s national development plan, national investment plan and social development sector strategy, among other national plans and strategies, the draft United Nations sustainable development cooperation framework for 2023–2025 and the humanitarian response plan for 2022. It will contribute directly to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals 2 and 17 and indirectly to goals 1, 3, 4, 5, 12, 13 and 16 through the following four complementary outcomes:

➢ Vulnerable and food-insecure people in Palestine have improved ability to meet their food and nutrition needs throughout the year.

➢ Vulnerable people in Palestine, including youth, women and persons with disabilities, have improved access to livelihood opportunities and resilience to shocks by 2028.

➢ National institutions in Palestine have enhanced capacities to enable more sustainable, inclusive and integrated national systems and services, including social protection, by 2028.

➢ Humanitarian and development actors in Palestine have access to efficient and effective services and support throughout the year.