Multidimensional Poverty in the Gaza Strip ?
As the 20th month of Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip unfolds, recent data has showed that the Israeli military aims have reached unprecedented destructive levels, targeting every vital sphere of the Gazan community’s life. Mass physical destruction, as well as a choking siege are leaving Palestinians in the Gaza Strip with little-to-no chance of survival, as all vital socioeconomic sectors are impacted, likely leaving the entire population multidimensionally poor for years to come.
The National Strategy to Combat Multidimensional Poverty (MDP) (2023-2030) previously set a goal to reduce MDP levels in Palestine by 50%, from 24% to 12% by 2030 (MoSD, 2023). The new realities imposed by the ongoing devastating aggression in the Gaza Strip will likely create shifts in this agenda’s aims, given the increase in the (already high) prevalence of MDP in the Gaza Strip. Understanding the key pillars of multidimensional poverty is essential for measuring current and future levels of MDP as well as the provision of meaningful and necessary interventions.
As such, this background paper aims to provide a brief overview of MDP in the Gaza Strip to stimulate discussion on its current reality and challenges to alleviate it in the aftermath of the aggression. It will begin by introducing MDP, then exploring MDP in Palestine, including its approach, measurement, actors, and its indicators before the current devastating aggression. After which, the background paper provides an overview of MDP amidst the aggression and offers topics of discussion on the challenges and MDP-alleviation policies in the aftermath of the aggression.