Ramallah – State Secretary to the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Mr. Jochen Flasbarth, and Mr. David Kunze, Director of KfW Office in Ramallah and Gaza, as well as Mr. Khaled Osaily, Minister of National Economy, joined UNDP/PAPP Special Representative, Ms. Yvonne Helle, yesterday in the closing event of the Employment Generation Programme (EGP) in the premises of Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, Ramallah.

Germany and UNDP maintain a long-standing partnership in support of the Palestinian People. After twenty years, one of the prominent programmes, the Employment Generation Programme (EGP), is now coming to an end. Since 2002, the Government of Germany, through the German Development Bank KfW, its implementing partner UNDP/PAPP, civil society actors, and the Palestinian Authority, have worked to address the most urgent development needs of Palestinian communities, including unemployment.

The high unemployment rates in the Palestinian Territories affect not only individuals and families but entire communities. Hence, creating job opportunities, especially for women and the Palestinian youth, is one important goal of Germany’s development cooperation with the Palestinian Territories.

Since its inception in 2002 the "Employment Generation Program (EGP)”, funded by Germany through KfW and implemented by UNDP, completed 766 projects in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip with a total amount of over 100 million EUR. It generated over 1.37 million workdays in addition to 2,200 permanent jobs, of which 60% are held by women.

BMZ State Secretary Jochen Flasbarth acknowledged EGP’s achievements for female employment: “The particular focus on the female workforce and on equal access to the labour market for women is one of the hallmarks of our development cooperation worldwide and a concrete outcome of the feminist development policy promoted by Development Minister Svenja Schulze.”

Projects have included rehabilitation, extension and building of hospitals, schools, centres for vocational training, culture, women, and people with special needs, youth clubs and sports facilities, as well as road, water, and sewage networks. A distinctive measure has been the support to the Hebron Rehabilitation Committee (HRC) in revitalizing the old city of Hebron, which will also be visited by Mr Flasbarth in the course of his mission. The achievements there include the rehabilitation of 206 shops in the old city, restoration of 96 homes, rehabilitation of the Al Yakaza School, a clinic that serves the residents as well as a Turkish Bath in Khan Shaheen to preserve cultural heritage and to serve as tourist attraction in the old city.

Ms Yvonne Helle, UNDP/PAPP Special Representative of the Administrator, expressed her gratitude for Germany's unwavering commitment and support in empowering the EGP to meet the development needs of the most vulnerable Palestinians and their communities. She emphasized that the closing ceremony titled "Partners4Good" acknowledged the long-standing partnership that enabled the EGP to create a significant impact on the lives of Palestinians and highlighted a new collaboration, the Investment Programme for Resilience (IPR), which will build upon the EGP's success and take it to the next level. She continues: "The (IPR) represents a new commitment towards sustainable economic development in the oPt, and the German Federal Government, through KfW, and the UNDP/PAPP are looking forward to working together with the Palestinian Authority and civil society sector to achieve this goal."

The EGP contributed to strengthening the resilience of the Palestinians through social and economic efforts by lowering the rate of poverty and enhancing the standard of living. Even though the EGP is coming to an end, Germany is continuing its support for strengthening the resilience of the most marginalized communities in the West Bank, East-Jerusalem, and Gaza through the new “Investment Programme for Resilience (IPR)”. This program - also implemented by UNDP – supports Palestinians through investments in community infrastructure, enhancing access to sustainable and quality services, as well as focusing on capacity building, community engagement and social cohesion activities.

For further information, please contact:

Representative Office of the Federal Republic of Germany

Pr-1@rama.diplo.de

KfW

Farid Ashour, KfW Sector Coordinator, e-mail: farid.ashour@kfw.de

United Nations Development Programme

Motaz Dawabsheh, Programme Design and Implementation Analyst, Tel. +972-2-6268229 – e-mail: motaz.dawabsheh@undp.org