Day: May 11, 2023

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced today that by next month 200,000 people – 60 percent of the people it assists in Palestine – will no longer be receiving assistance due to a severe funding shortage. By August, WFP will be forced to completely suspend operations in the West Bank and Gaza if no funding is received. ‘Desperate times call for desperate measures. We have no option but to stretch the limited resources we have to ensure that the needs of the most vulnerable families are met. They will go hungry without food assistance,’ said Samer Abdeljaber, WFP Representative and Country Director in Palestine. ‘These are difficult choices, but we have already exhausted all options to stretch the funding that we have. We are grateful for the constant support that we received from donors over the years, but needs are growing, and resources are not meeting these needs.’ This month, the funding crunch forced WFP to reduce the value of its cash assistance by around 20 percent, to US$10.3 per person. WFP urgently needs US$51 million to maintain its life-saving food and cash assistance in Palestine until the end of the year. Vulnerable families in Gaza and the West Bank have been pushed to the limits by the combined effects of growing insecurity, a deteriorating economy, and the rising cost of living that is driving food insecurity up. Due to the steep rise in food prices and the constant instability, even the most basic needs have become unattainable leaving 1.84 million Palestinians – 35 percent of the population – food insecure. The situation is particularly dire in Gaza, where unemployment rates stand at 45.3 percent and two out of every three people struggle to afford their next meal. Over the past year, most families have been unable to cope in the face of global food price increases, accelerated by the conflict in Ukraine. In 2022, food prices in Palestine reached their highest in six years. “This past year has been a nightmare for thousands of poorer Palestinian families who have been pushed to their absolute limit,” said Abdeljaber. ‘The average cost of a family’s food needs increased by 20 percent. For Palestinians with low purchasing power, every percentage point increase in prices leaves them unable to meet the most basic food needs.’ WFP’s assistance accounts for an average of nearly half what people spend on food. The loss of assistance will also take its toll on the fragile local economy impacting a network of 300 local shops contracted by WFP across Palestine. Each month, WFP injects around US$3 million into the Palestinian economy through its direct programmes related to electronic cash transfers that allow people to buy wheat flour, vegetable oil, and frozen meat. Through its cash-based transfers platform, WFP also facilitates the transfer of US$10 million every month to vulnerable families on behalf of humanitarian and development partners. ‘We urge government donors and the private sector to continue their support to WFP during this difficult time,’ said Abdeljaber. ‘Continued donor support has allowed us to provide a lifeline to Palestinians as well as build sustainable food solutions in Palestine. We need now, more than ever, to ensure that work does not stop.’

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon

ABU DHABI, 11th May, 2023 (WAM) — A UAE-based publication said that the funding for an initiative led by the UAE and the US to develop climate-friendly farming has grown to more than $13 billion, passing the $10bn target set for Cop28, the global climate change summit to be held in the UAE later this year. In its editorial on Thursday, The National said, “In a wide-ranging speech to the Climate Tech gathering yesterday, Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Cop28 President-designate discussed key elements of the UAE’s climate policy, talking about solar power, hydrogen technology and carbon capture. “Notably, he also highlighted how the right approaches could cut emissions while supporting a sustainable, low-carbon economy. The focus was on the need to cut emissions, not progress, with a prioritisation of sustainable economic developments.” These two developments point to a comprehensive and multifaceted approach to the world’s rapidly changing environment, the daily noted. The Abu Dhabi event involves pivotal UAE players, such as ADNOC and Masdar, joining more than 100 companies, executives and senior energy industry figures to discuss practical, cutting-edge technological solutions to global warming. These include robotics and AI, carbon capture, digitalisation, alternative fuels, hydrogen, as well as new and low-carbon energy initiatives. On the other hand, the UAE a country with a relatively modest agricultural sector is taking a leading role in the 50-country Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate, or Aim for Climate, programme to build more resilient and sustainable food-production and supply networks, as well as cutting agricultural emissions. The billions in funding commitments secured this week will go towards, among other things, initiatives to support smallholder farmers, emerging technologies and methane reduction. This is an important sector to focus on agriculture plays a critical part in global warming. In 2021, the World Bank called it “a major part of the climate problem” that generates between 19 and 29 per cent of total greenhouse gas emissions. The editorial continued, “Informing both these aspects of climate-related work is a healthy dose of realism when it comes to overnight change and the importance of maintaining economic growth. “Regarding agriculture, there is an understanding that the world still needs industrial levels of farming to feed billions of people and support national economies as well as countless local livelihoods. It is a question of mitigating agriculture’s worst by-products, developing newer, smarter and more sustainable ways of producing enough food for everyone, and cutting food waste another issue that the UAE has been focusing a considerable amount of energy on.” Similarly, Dr. Al Jaber when addressing the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston, Texas in March, pointed out that “for high-emitting sectors, renewable energy is just not going to be enough”. And after completing a two-day trip to China last month, he said, “We need to explore every available option. It is not renewables, hydrogen, nuclear, carbon capture, or only using the least carbon-intensive oil and gas. It is all of the above, plus new technologies yet to be invented, commercialised and deployed.” “The challenges are considerable, but the energy and time being invested in practical solutions to the problems thrown up by climate change should be reassuring. Steering clear of quick fixes or approaches that leave behind the developing world is a wise path to take. What this week shows is that when it comes to the interrelated challenges posed by man-made climate change, the UAE is joining the dots,” the editorial concluded.

Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM)

Palestinians killed in Israeli air strikes in Gaza rose to 28 as of Tuesday. The Ministry of Health in Gaza reported Thursday in an update on the death toll amongst Palestinians from the Israeli operations in Gaza to at least 28 and 93 wounded.

Source: Jordan News Agency