JERUSALEM/RAMALLAH, June 24, 2010 (WAFA)- On Saturday June 26, the Palestinian Authority and the European Union are launching a new payment of social allowances to over 49,600 vulnerable Palestinian households in the West Bank and Gaza

 For West Bank beneficiaries, this represents the first payment under the newly-established 'Palestinian National Programme for Social Protection Cash Transfer Programme' (PNPSP CTP), which targets Palestinian families in extreme poverty.

This is the result of the Ministry of Social Affairs' leading efforts to reform its cash assistance scheme towards greater efficiency and transparency. The funds for the payment provided by the European Union reach a total amount of over €10.2 million.

The assistance takes the form of cash allowances and will reach 49,672 families in need. The level of benefits paid to eligible beneficiary families in the West Bank is calculated on the basis of household size and welfare status. The 26,976 beneficiary families who live in the Gaza Strip, will continue to receive an allowance of NIS 1,000 per household.

Minister for Social Affairs, Ms Majeda Al Masri, said: 'The Ministry of social Affairs endeavours to alleviate poverty and protect the poorest and most vulnerable of its citizens through various assistance schemes including cash transfer, economic empowerment and other social services. Efforts undertaken by the Ministry to reform and merge its cash-based assistance into one single national cash transfer programme targeting the extreme poor very recently came into reality with the introduction of the PNPSP CTP – a programme that builds on a fair, transparent and equitable targeting methodology where household welfare is examined, weighed and verified. We have been very pleased to realise that, thanks to this methodology, 8,500 extremely poor households who had never received assistance from the Ministry have been identified and will now benefit from cash assistance. This payment comes as the culmination of the efforts exerted by the Ministry to maximize the impact of its limited financial resources by targeting them towards the poorest and most needy families. Although the reformed programme is only being implemented in the West Bank at this stage, we are working hard to encourage Gaza to join in. Last but not least, I would like to extend my sincere gratitude and appreciation to the European Union for its continuous support at financial and technical levels towards the realisation of comprehensive national programme of social protection at.'

The European Union Representative, Mr Christian Berger said:  'We commend the Ministry of Social Affairs for its exemplary efforts in leading the reform process of the Palestinian cash transfer program. The adoption of proxy means testing to identify the poorest families and the institution of benefits levels depending on household size and welfare status to allocate resources to the neediest, under the new cash transfer programme, represent a concrete step forward towards the national objective to develop and implement an overall social assistance strategy with improved equity, efficiency, and effectiveness. We hope Gaza can be included soon in the implementation of the new program.'

All beneficiaries of the programme in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip are identified in cooperation with the Ministries of Finance and Social Affairs. Payments are made over-the-counter at 47 branches of Bank of Palestine and Cairo Amman Bank. Beneficiaries may collect their allowances from 26 June to 8 July 2010, at a designated bank branch. This payment is part of an EU allocation of €38 million for the PEGASE programme of support to Vulnerable Palestinian Families in 2010.

PEGASE channels EU assistance to help build a Palestinian State, in accordance with the priorities and needs identified by the Palestinian Authority in its three year reform and development programme (PRDP). Launched by the European Commission on 1 February 2008, it is the main financing mechanism of the European Union. As well as helping the PA to meet a substantial proportion of its running costs, European funds support major reform and development programmes in key ministries, to help prepare the Palestinian Authority for statehood in line with the plan proposed in August 2009 by Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

Since 2007 the EU has provided total assistance to the Palestinian people, including civil society organizations and refugees, averaging more than €500 million annually.