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It is a privilege and a pleasure to be among you today for launching the key findings of the Palestinian Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2014 also called MICS. Today marks the culmination of a long and intense process led by the PCBS - Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, in partnership with several line Ministries with support from UNFPA and UNICEF. MICS surveys will provide the both UN agencies, the Palestinian National Authority and others with national evidence-based information to guide public policies and programming for the benefit of women’s and children’s health including progress made to response to the unmet needs, pre and post-natal care contraceptive methods and on child marriage. Data like MICS have been used widely as a foundation for policy making as well as programmatic action, and for the reason of guiding public opinion on livelihoods and resilience of children and women. Results from this MICS will allow Palestine to better track the improvements on domestic goals and will constitute a baseline for the new Sustainable Development Goals, part of the post-2015 agenda. Together with data and analysis from other major sources of information, in-depth analysis of the MICS’ data will provide scientific evidence for the formulation of policies and programmes. It is critical to utilise data from these sources to establish sound baselines against which development progress can be measured. Let me make a few observations on the survey result that caught my eye: First: The MICS data shows that there have been great achievements when it comes to reproductive health even though Palestine is under occupation. Especially when it comes to maternal health, skilled birth attendance and coverage of antenatal care the indicators are very impressive compared to other similar countries. This indicates that the work done by stakeholders including the Palestinian National Authorities hereunder the Ministry of Health as well as NGOs and UN agencies is actually making a difference! Although, the data illustrates great achievements in relation to reproductive health, it is important to bear in mind that the survey does not asses the quality of services. Assuring high quality services including of reproductive health remains a priority for us. Second: The report provides evidence that the Gaza Strip is not faring well in some surveyed areas compared to the West Bank. (this could also be true for remote areas of West bank) · more than 1 out of 4 women in the Gaza Strip are married before the age of 18. The same ratio also applies when it comes to early childbearing. · 1 out of 4 women have had at least one live birth before the age of 18. A high adolescent birthday rate increases the numbers of maternal deaths and stillbirths. At the same time, young mothers often have to leave school thereby having a long-term implication on their livelihood. It is believed that the humanitarian crisis and the lack of resources in the Gaza Strip are pressuring parents to marry of their young daughters. Palestine can be characterised as a chronic humanitarian setting due to the long lasting occupation. The indicators will therefore unfortunately not always progress as in other development settings. The Survey only illustrates the situation prior to this summer’s War in Gaza and does not take into consideration the interruption of services during the 51-day war. We therefore highly expect the indicators to be even poorer for the Gaza Strip than reported in this MICS. Registration of maternal deaths in the Gaza Strip indicates that the number has doubled when comparing the first 6 months of 2014 with the last 6 months. Additionally, there has been registered as many maternal deaths during the first 2 months of 2015 which usually equals to the number of maternal deaths of a 6 months period prior to the war. Many have contributed to this prominent initiative and I wish to take this occasion to air my genuine gratitude to all institutions involved, and in particular to the PCBS for the outstanding leadership and partnership we have developed over the years. I would particularly like to applaud the efforts of the many interviewers who zigzagged the country from Gaza to the West Bank, traveling in – sometimes difficult conditions including checkpoints to collect invaluable data from more than 10,000 households ensuring a response rate above 95%. In conclusion, I would like to say that it is crucial that government institutions, ministries, UN organisations, bilateral and multilateral institutions, enterprises, research institutions and universities invest resources in analysing and utilising knowledge and data for the monitoring of policies and programmes, and to support policy implementation. We hope the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics will continue its commendable efforts in data collection, dissemination and advocacy for the benefit of the People of Palestine. UNFPA is committed continue its support. UNFPA Brief: UNFPA is the lead UN agency for delivering a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, and every young person's potential is fulfilled. We therefore expand the possibilities for women and young people to lead healthy and productive lives. However, to reach these goals we are in need of sound and reliable data, such as the MICS to track the progress and to target our efforts, thereby ensuring that we reach the most vulnerable groups. We, UNFPA Palestine are currently implementing our 5thprogramme Cycle (2015-2017), which contributes to strengthen the capacity of Palestinian National Authority institutions and civil society focusing particularly on · providing quality sexual and reproductive health focused family planning and gender based violence services, · promoting health care including protection against gender based violence in vulnerable communities, · increasing adolescents and youth access to health friendly services and programmes and · strengthening integration of data for evidence based policies. United Nations Population Fund East Jerusalem, State of Palestine Tel: +972 2 581 7167 Fax: +972 2 581 7382` |
