UN / GAZA DESTRUCTION ECONOMIC IMPACT
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STORY: UN / GAZA DESTRUCTION ECONOMIC IMPACT
TRT: 3:04
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT WFP FOOTAGE ON SCREEN
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 31 JANUARY 2024, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND / FILE
FILE – WFP – CREDIT ON SCREEN - 10 OCTOBER 2023, GAZA
1. Various shots, Destroyed buildings, streets (day)
31 JANUARY 2024, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
2.SOUNDBITE (English) Rami Al Azzeh, Economist, Assistance to the Palestinian People Unit at United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD):
“And in the worst-case scenario, we go back to what it was prior to October 2023, and in there16 years, Gaza economy grew by 1 percent. The average growth rate in Gaza was 0.4 percent. And if that's the conditions prevailing in the recovery or after the war ends or military occupation ends, it will take Gaza until 2092 or seven decades just for it to go back to its level of 2022. But this basically poses the question, can the international community or the people in Gaza afford seven decades of such a humanitarian crisis, catastrophic humanitarian crisis?”
FILE – WFP – CREDIT ON SCREEN - 02 NOVEMBER 2023, GAZA CITY
3. Various shots, explosions
31 JANUARY 2024, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
2.SOUNDBITE (English) Rami Al Azzeh, Economist, Assistance to the Palestinian People Unit at United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD):
“If we took what was needed after the 2014 military operations in Gaza, what was needed was 3.9 billion. But given the level of destruction we're seeing now; it's going to be multiple times the 3.9 billion that was asked in 2014. And given the catastrophic humanitarian disaster in Gaza, now this the tens of billions needed for the reconstruction does not include the humanitarian assistance need for the people in Gaza until the reconstruction is done.”
FILE – WFP – CREDIT ON SCREEN - 14 DECEMBER 2023, RAFAH, GAZA
3. Various shots, people dig through the rubble of a destroyed apartment house in search of survivors
31 JANUARY 2024, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
4.SOUNDBITE (English) Rami Al Azzeh, Economist, Assistance to the Palestinian People Unit at United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD):
“The most important message from this report is that the international community needs to take urgent action now. And going back to have solutions and the cycle of destruction and insufficient reconstruction is not an option for the people in Gaza.”
FILE – WFP – CREDIT ON SCREEN - 11 JANUARY 2024, RAFAH, GAZA
5. Various shots, displaced people salvaging belongings in destroyed homes, living in camps and on the side of the road
The war in Gaza has resulted in an unprecedented level of destruction to its economy which will take tens of billions of dollars and decades to reverse, UN trade and development body UNCTAD said in a new report on Wednesday (31 Jan).
The preliminary assessment of the social and economic impacts of the conflict examines Gross Domestic Product (GDP) loss, recovery timelines and the enduring effects on poverty and household expenditure.
It is estimated the annual GDP of Gaza declined by $655 million last year, equivalent to 24 per cent.
"If Gaza is to remerge with a viable economy, the military confrontation should end immediately, and reconstruction should begin in earnest and without delay. The international community needs to act now before it is too late," the report recommended.
Gaza has been under blockade since 2007, after Hamas seized power, and had an average growth rate of 0.4 per cent through 2022.
UNCTAD estimated that the economy had already contracted by 4.5 per cent in the first three quarters of 2023.
“However, the military operation has greatly accelerated the decline and precipitated a 24 per cent GDP contraction and a 26.1 per cent drop in GDP per capita for the entire year,” it said.
The report found that if fighting were to stop immediately with reconstruction starting right away, and the 2007-2022 growth trend persists, it would take until 2092 just to restore the GDP levels of 2022, with GDP per capita and socioeconomic conditions declining.
“However, even with the most optimistic scenario that GDP could grow at 10 per cent annually it would still take Gaza’s GDP per capita until 2035 to pre-blockade level of 2006.”
Speaking from Geneva via video link, UNCTAD’s economist Rami Al Azzeh, said, “The most important message from this report is that the international community needs to take urgent action now. And going back to have solutions and the cycle of destruction and insufficient reconstruction is not an option for the people in Gaza.”