Democracy and Governance

• • Workshop for the Ministry of Local Government Staff Explored Local Governance Issues: The Local Democratic Reform (LDR) program, implemented by CHF, conducted a workshop for130 staff from the Ministry of Local Government during which the Minister Dr. Khaled Al Qawasmi expressed the Ministry’s support for the PA’s Program for the thirteenth Government. He informed the Ministry staff that a new law governing the staffing of Local Government Units and the Ministry would become effective on January 1, 2010.
  
  
• PACE Program Will Help Establish More Efficient Palestinian Postal Services: The Palestinian Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology approved a six-month work plan aimed at establishing a better functioning postal system in Palestine. The new plan will utilize the proposals of the Palestinian Authority Capacity Enhancement (PACE) project, implemented by Chemonics. The plan aims to upgrade the design and layout of the postal offices and improve citizens’ access to postal services. These interventions include improving the public waiting areas at the Nablus Post Office, enhancing public outreach and communications capacity, and streamlining the organization.
  
  
• Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology Staff Learned about the Centers of Excellence. The PACE project conducted an introductory session on the Centers of Excellence (COE) for twenty Ministry of Telecommunications and Information Technology employees including Minister Mashour Abu Dakha. PACE introduced the general concepts of COE reform, the five fundamental COE criteria, the potential benefits to be gained from the participatory reform, as well as the roles and responsibilities of potential COE team members.

Water Resources and Infrastructure

• Bureen Water Network Brings Clean Drinking Water to Thousands: USAID completed the construction of a new water network in the Bureen village in an underserved area south of Nablus.  The project was implemented under the Infrastructure Needs Program by International Relief and Development (IRD). The project consists of 21 km of water pipelines, a pump station, and a 500 cubic meter water reservoir.  Over 4,000 residents in Bureen, many of whom used to buy tankered water at great expense, will now have access to affordable and clean drinking water. The water system was also designed to be able to provide water to 20,000 residents in neighboring villages in the future.  The $6.15 million project created 8,100 person days of employment for local Palestinians.  The $300 million Infrastructure Needs Program is a 5- year initiative that provides infrastructure assistance to Palestinians in the West Bank. With a first year funding of $80 million, USAID is implementing 17 projects which include construction of 7 schools, 40 km of asphalt roads, and 2 water system projects.

Economic Growth

• Bureen Water Network Brings Clean Drinking Water to Thousands: USAID completed the construction of a new water network in the Bureen village in an underserved area south of Nablus.  The project was implemented under the Infrastructure Needs Program by International Relief and Development (IRD). The project consists of 21 km of water pipelines, a pump station, and a 500 cubic meter water reservoir.  Over 4,000 residents in Bureen, many of whom used to buy tankered water at great expense, will now have access to affordable and clean drinking water. The water system was also designed to be able to provide water to 20,000 residents in neighboring villages in the future.  The $6.15 million project created 8,100 person days of employment for local Palestinians.  The $300 million Infrastructure Needs Program is a 5- year initiative that provides infrastructure assistance to Palestinians in the West Bank. With a first year funding of $80 million, USAID is implementing 17 projects which include construction of 7 schools, 40 km of asphalt roads, and 2 water system projects.

Health and Humanitarian Assistance

• Jenin Ministry of Health Conducted the First Community Health Workshop:  Community-based health training conducted in April under the Palestinian Health Sector Reform and Development Project (the Flagship Project), implemented by Chemonics, continues to show real impact on improving Ministry of Health (MoH) outreach to their local communities. For the first time, the Jenin District MoH conducted a workshop with their local community on diabetes and fasting during Ramadan. Participants included 22 diabetic patients from Dier Abu Dei'f village, 7 community-clinic committee members, and 3 supervisors from the Jenin District MoH Primary Health Care Directorate.