UNDP Says Gaza Cleanup May Take Years Amid Hazardous Living Conditions
Speaking during a virtual briefing from Jerusalem after a recent visit to the Gaza Strip, UNDP chief Alexander De Croo described the humanitarian situation as the worst he has witnessed in his development career.
"This is the worst living conditions that I have ever seen, extremely painful conditions to live in," De Croo said, noting that "90% of the people of Gaza today live in the middle of that rubble, which is extremely dangerous."
He outlined UNDP’s recovery efforts as focusing on three main areas, the first being debris and solid waste removal.
"Rubble removal, we have done approximately 0.5% of the total," De Croo said, adding, "at the current pace, it will take us seven years to remove all the rubble." He emphasized the need for greater authority and capacity to accelerate debris clearing and recycling.
Temporary housing was identified as the second priority, with De Croo noting that "90% of the population lives in what you could not even call tents. I mean, this is very, very rudimentary tents."
UNDP has built 500 recovery housing units and has 4,000 ready for deployment, but De Croo said the needs far exceed this supply. "Between 200,000–300,000 units are necessary to give people a better living, not the living that they should have, but a better living than what's available for the moment," he added.
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