MoSD Meets with Swedish and Belgian Representatives to Enhance Cooperation

Ramallah – As part of ongoing efforts to strengthen international partnerships and expand support for Palestinian citizens amid the exceptional humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, Minister of Social Development and Acting Minister of State for Relief Affairs, Dr. Samah Hamad, received the Consul General of Sweden, Sophie Baker, and the Consul General of Belgium, Annick Van Calster.

The meeting focused on ways to enhance cooperation and coordination, in the presence of the Minister’s Advisor, Doaa Wadi, and Advisor to the Minister of State for Relief Affairs, Mahdi Hamdan.

During the meeting, Dr. Hamad reviewed the current humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, stressing the urgent need to sustain organized relief efforts and improve response tools through the development of comprehensive national databases that contribute to enhancing the efficiency of service and aid delivery and ensuring that assistance reaches those most in need.

Dr. Hamad also addressed the situation in the northern governorates of the West Bank, particularly Jenin and Tulkarm, in light of repeated incursions that have resulted in displacement waves and extensive damage to the homes of a number of families. She noted that this requires urgent and sustainable interventions to provide protection and support to affected families, including efforts to identify appropriate housing solutions.

In the same context, Dr. Hamad outlined the Ministry’s service system, which includes eighteen core services in addition to two new services introduced during the current year as part of efforts to develop the social protection system. These services include housing allowances for displaced families, cash assistance programs, and care and protection services for the most vulnerable groups, as well as the development of the national social registry and the implementation of field surveys required to update household data and improve targeting accuracy.

She emphasized the importance of supporting these services and ensuring the continued operation of social protection centers as a fundamental pillar of the national protection system, calling for expanding areas of cooperation to contribute to improving the quality of services provided to target groups.

For their part, the two consuls expressed their countries’ interest in exploring possible avenues of cooperation to support the social protection programs provided by the Ministry, including protection centers, and in coordinating with relevant stakeholders to ensure the continuity and development of these services in response to growing needs.