UN Photo/Paulo Filgueiras Achim Steiner, UNDP Administrator. (file)
UN NEWS
Achim Steiner, Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), told Member States that the almost six weeks of war have created a crisis of massive scale.
“On top of this humanitarian catastrophe […] a development crisis of massive proportions is already unfolding,” he said, warning that it could have generational implications.
He presented findings from UNDP’s latest assessment, which projected that if the fighting continues for a second full month, poverty could soar by 34 per cent, pushing half a million additional people into poverty.
“A third full month of war would see poverty increase by almost 45 per cent, expanding poverty to include over 39 per cent of the population for a total of more than 2.1 million people,” he said.
He also informed Member States of the impacts on the Palestinian economy, with the GDP declining by an estimated 4.3 per cent, sustaining a loss of over $857 million.
“With a third full month of war, the decrease of GDP would reach 12.2 per cent, with losses of over $2.5 billion,” he said.
The UNDP head said that even with the most conservative scenario, it is estimated that the war will set back development in the State of Palestine by 11 years, with Gaza suffering a setback of 17 years. Under higher impact scenarios, the impact in Gaza would rise to 19 years and in the State of Palestine as a whole by 16 years, he said.
“Every additional month that this war continues will come with huge and compounding cost to all Palestinians now and in the medium term,” he said, underscoring the need to step up efforts to stop the war, “as a humanitarian but also as a development imperative.”