West Bank and GazaWest Bank and Gaza

Emergency Services Support Emergency Services Support Program Program

Multi-Donor Trust FundMulti-Donor Trust Fund

President‘s President‘s OfficeOffice

Emergency Services Support Project –Multi-Donor Trust Fund

Public financing became increasingly fragmented leaving the government unable to cover current and recurrent expenses of its institutions, causing further deterioration in the Palestinian people's living conditions.

Concerns were deeply expressed by the Office of the President and the donors' community vis-à-vis the serious impact that the situation is leaving on the social-sector .

The ESSP-MDTF agreement was the best possible way to maintain the consistency of the basic human services to the people through multi-donor efforts.

MDTF-ESSP: Status of Donor Commitments/ Contributions

Donor(Pledged Amounts and Actual)

Amount(USD)

StatusSectors

EC(EURO 10 million pledged)Amount paid EUR 8 million

12.610.3

AA signed August 14, 2006Non-earmarked

DFIDGBP 6 million

11AA for GBP 3 million signed August 11, 2006An amendment to the existing DFID AA for an

additional GBP 3 million signed November 3, 2006

Earmarked for drugs and outsourced health services

Water and Sanitation, Power

AustriaEURO 1 million

1.2AA signed August 11, 2006Earmarked for drugs and

outsourced health services

NorwayNOK 21.7 million

3.4AA for initial NOK 15 million signed November 13,

2006. Amended AA for additional contribution ofNOK 6,696,711 signed December 21, 2006

Not earmarked

SwedenSEK 45 million

6.0AA signed October 18, 2006Not earmarked

BelgiumEURO 2.5 million

3.2AA signed October 24, 2006Not earmarked

SpainEURO 15 million

18.9Draft signed January 8, 2007Not earmarked

Swiss Development CooperationUS$ 2 million

2.0AA signed December 21, 2006Earmarked for Education Sector

FranceEUR 3 million

3.8AA singed by the Bank on 6 December.Not earmarked

Total Pledged/ Received62.0/ 58.0

Other donors, e.g. Germany and Ireland, have expressed interest without reference to any specific amounts.Italy has showed an interest to contribute with EUR 2 million (US$ 2.6 million equivalent). Discussion is still ongoing between the Bank and the donor on the specifics.

MDTF-ESSP Summary of Budget Commitments and Disbursements, As of End February 2007

Health Sector

2007

-Public sector runs 22 Hospitals and 472 primary health care centers covering 5 million Palestinians in Gaza and West Bank.

-Funds provided by the ESSP cover 28.8 million, i.e. 50% of non-salary recurrent health budget.

- ESSP has purchased surgical supplies, lab materials, medical disposables and medical gases for the WBG hospitals.

- Drug supplies have been partially covered through local tenders. International tender for drugs is in final stages.

•Spare parts for vital medical equipments such as CT scans & hemodialysis machines. Tenders for these materials are also in final stages.

Delivery of Drugs to Central Drug Stores

January 2007

• Public hospitals have limited capacity vis-à-vis the increasing number of population

• In response, about 18,000 patients are treated annually through contracts with 42 non-governmental institutions for services not available in public hospitals.

• Between Sept - Dec 2006, ESSP covered specialized health care for 2,200 patients and 1,964 delivery cases (USD 1.3 million out of USD6 million allocated).

Tertiary Health Care

Education

2007

There are 1,417 public schools (832 basic and 585 secondary) serving 750,000 Student .

ESSP supports basic schools supplies, educational aids and materials, furniture and computers for these schools .

ESSP also supports basic supplies, equipment and educational materials for 17 vocational secondary schools

School Rehabilitation and Upgrading 1.75 million US dollars are allocated under the ESSP

for covering the rehabilitation works of schools in the West Bank and Gaza

Social Services

2007

Social Service Centers and Shelters

ESSP supports (USD 260,000) for food and shelter for the residents of shelters and daily care centers to ensure clean and healthy environment for elderly, youth, and handicapped who benefit from the in-house services.

Youth and Women Vocational Training Centers

- A total of 1,300 youth of both genders benefit from vocational trainings through its workshops, including aluminum, tailoring, and metal workshops, car maintenance, and carpentry.

- ESSP supports purchase of tools, equipment, materials and incremental operating expenses for these centers.

Utility Sector

PEA

2007

CMWU

PWA

PWA Water Rehabilitation

ESSP is contributing to the improving access to safe piped water supply services in West Bank (USD 1.2 million) and to ensure public health safety for the population.

PEA – Power SuppliesESSP supports the operating cost and maintenance of the main utilities in West Bank and Gaza:

•Gaza Electricity Distribution Company (GEDCO)

•Jerusalem District Electricity Company (JDECO)

•Southern Electricity Distribution Company (SELCO)

•Hebron Power Company (HEPCO)

ESSP supports maintenance of the networks to increase the quality of supply to the consumers and reduce to network outage for the benefit of about 780,000 Palestinian people.

Project Management

Enhancing Project Management

Following steps have been taken to enhance the project management and the implementation process:

• Strengthen coordination between the OoP/PCU and the beneficiary sectoral agencies, through weekly meetings, application of strict monitoring mechanism through regular updates of the Procurement Plan, and contract monitoring system at the PCU and line agencies.

• Apply financial monitoring system to follow up the disbursement process within the Office of President (OOP) and to ensure accuracy of transactions and promptness of payment.

Additional steps taken by OoP/PCU:

• Recruitment of international procurement consultant to assist in International Competitive Bidding of drugs, and ensure transparency and accountability of the process

• Recruitment of a national procurement consultant (financed by DfID) to assist PCU in procurement process and ensure quality of bidding documents and procedures.

• Recruitment of an international health consultant and a Palestinian lawyer to develop advanced procurement and contract management procedures.

Enhancing Project Management