Belgian development agency PALESTINIAN TERRITORY BELGIUM PARTNERSHIP

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1 Belgian development agency PALESTINIAN TERRITORY BELGIUM PARTNERSHIP

2 BTC / Joline Fatouleh PALESTINIAN TERRITORY BELGIUM PARTNERSHIP Since 1997, the Belgian Government has been supporting the development activities and emergency interventions in the Palestinian territory. The Cooperation Programme for identifies two primary sectors: local government and education (including technical and vocational education), with an overall budget of 71.6 million euros. DISTRIBUTION OF FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS BY SECTOR ( ) Education: 33 million euro (47%) SUPPORT TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT: 20 million euro (28%) Multi-sectoral interventions: 4.6 million euro (5%) DELEGATED CO-OPERATION: 14 million euro (20%)

3 BTC / Roula Handal BTC / Khaled Faqieh FACTS AND FIGUREs 1 Population: 4.2 million inhabitants in Percentage of the population living below the national poverty line: 22% Human Development Index: rank 114 out of 187 countries Gross domestic product per capita (at purchasing power parity): 2,656 dollars Life expectancy at birth: 73 years Adult literacy rate: 95% Gross primary enrolment ratio: 79% Infant mortality rate (under 1): 20 (Unicef 2010) Press Freedom Index: rank 153 out of 179 countries (Reporters without borders 2011/2012) 1 If not specified, source: Human Development Report 2011 UNDP. 2 Source: Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), 2011.

4 BTC / Jan Van Lint BTC / Roula Handal STRATEGY : 2 prior The Belgian governmental cooperation with the Palestinian Authority primarily supports two sectors: education and local government. EDUCATION The Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education has established an Educational Developmental Strategic Plan to improve the quality of education. BTC supports the following components of the plan: 1. SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION: improve infrastructure and create a healthy and safe educational environment. BTC also trains teachers and administrative personnel on how to use the equipment. 2. E-learning: propose an e-learning curriculum that allows students to become autonomous and active learners. 3. TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION: BTC s priority areas of training are: electro-technology, electronics, communications and information technology, and business administration. 4. CAPACITY ENHANCEMENT FOR INSTITUTION BUILDING: pursues three main objectives: poverty reduction, economic development and institution building. It is implemented through institutional capacity building, including local and international scholarships. Partners Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Ministry of Planning and Administrative Development, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Industry, Chamber of Commerce, Training Centres, Universities Key Points Since 2000 Belgium has been strengthening the Palestinian Curriculum Development Center through capacity building, studies and monitoring, schoolbooks printing, distribution and evaluation of the quality. While an average classroom size of 33 students may not seem like an alarmingly high number, double shifts, aging infrastructure and long travel distances have justified the continuous involvement of Belgian cooperation in schools building. Since 2000, BTC has supported the construction, rehabilitation and equipment of 22 schools in the West Bank and Gaza strip and provided the Ministry of Education with a new office in Ramallah. The new schools integrate natural lighting and ventilation, passive solar gains and cooling, besides showing attention to a green and child-friendly environment. 5. JOINT FINANCING AGREEMENT (JFA): a pooled funding system with various donors to support the Education Development Strategic Plan. Policy dialogue, strategic planning and good financial management are at the centre of the system.

5 BTC / Joline Fatouleh ity sectors LOCAL GOVERNMENT The Palestinian Authority is reforming the Local Government system in order to strengthen the administration of the territory and to improve the service delivery and local development. Belgium supports the new Local Government strategic plan by a five-year programme started in 2011, the Local Government Reform and Development Program. This programme supports the decentralisation efforts by strengthening the smaller local government units into more sustainable and effective structures. In addition, the programme supports institutional development and contributes to the financing of a joint donor funded Municipal Development Program. Belgium will also contribute to the economic regeneration of historical centers of local entities. MULTI-SECTORAL INTERVENTIONS Diverse multi-sectoral interventions complete this programme: Micro Intervention Programme which supports small scale development projects introduced by the local community. A study, expertise and consultancy fund is at the disposal of the Ministry of Planning and Administrative Development and includes a capacity building component. TULKARM JENIN TUBAS Partners Ministry of Local Government, Ministry of Planning, Municipal Development and Lending Fund, Local Government Units QALQILIYA SALFIT NABLUS Key points BTC supports local governments through a programme with three components. At the central level, it supports Institutional Capacity Development of the Ministry of Local Government and its 11 district branches; At the local level, it supports four clusters of 21 village councils which are merging together to set up four new municipalities in the districts of Nablus, Ramallah, Bethlehem and Hebron; Support for the Municipal Development Program together with other donors. RAMALLAH JERUSALEM BETHLEHEM HEBRON JERICHO WEST BANK GAZA STRIP EDUCATION LOCAL GOVERNMENT

6 ABOUT BTC The Belgian development agency, BTC, mobilises its resources and its expertise to eliminate poverty in the world. BTC contributes to the efforts of the international community and works towards a society that provides present and future generations with sufficient resources to build a sustainable and fair world. Its staff members in Brussels and overseas embody the commitment of the Belgian State and other development partners to international solidarity. They support more than 300 cooperation projects and programmes in some 20 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Managing editor: Carl Michiels, rue Haute 147, 1000 Brussels - 05 / Photograph cover: Ryan Rodrick CONTACTS BTC PALESTINIAN TERRITORY NASHASHIBI STREET BUILDING N 18 SHEIKH JARRAH P.O. BOX JERUSALEM T (+972) F (+972) REPRESENTATION.PZA@BTCCTB.ORG CONSULATE GENERAL OF BELGIUM 5, BAIBARS STREET SHEIKH JARRAH P.O. BOX JERUSALEM T (+972) F (+972) JERUSALEM@DIPLOBEL.FED.BE MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND ADMINISTRATIVE DEVELOPMENT AL-MASYOUN P.O. BOX 4557 RAMALLAH T (+972) F (+972)