The occupation of Palestine and the conflict and violence that have attended it has had devastating implications for protection and livelihoods in the West Bank and Gaza. This Overseas Development Institute (ODI) Working Paper analyzes the relationship between protection and livelihoods in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. It explores:
- how threats to people’s protection are linked to their livelihoods,
- the impact of these threats on particular groups in the West Bank and Gaza, including youth and children (which account for over half of the populations in Gaza) and
- the strategies they employ in response.
The study analyzes the efforts of humanitarian organizations to link protection and livelihoods in their work, with recommendations on how this work could be expanded in the occupied Palestinian territory and elsewhere. Among other concerns, the report identifies persistent pyschological trauma in children, poverty caused by vioence and constricted movement, and lack of education due to poor people in the Palestinian territories withdrawing their children from school in order to increase the productive capacity of their households.
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Jason Wolfe (USAID) and Radha Rajkotia (IRC) are researching and writing an “open paper” aimed at outlining how the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework and the Value Chain Approach can be used to improve the lives of youth affected by conflict. The open paper approach welcomes community input and feedback throughout the writing process – click here for more information. This post outlines the goals and structure of the paper.
Having decided to write about how sustainable livelihoods approaches and value chain approaches can be integrated for youth in conflict, we are left with a tough and intimidating question - how can sustainable livelihoods approaches and value chains be integrated for youth in conflict? In our discussions about this issue we have thought about the relative merits of each of the approaches individually, and debated whether integration of the two approaches should even be our goal if our ultimate aim is to better serve the economic needs of youth in conflict.
In the end, it seems that the best way to sort through this conundrum is to roll up our sleeves and muddle through it. As we said in our initial posting, we are hoping that the process of writing this paper by engaging with colleagues and interested onlookers will help contribute to a collective resolution of these difficult issues. We want to have voices of the youth development workers and the die-hard economists coming together, if not to make harmony, then at least to make for a productive discussion.
So, below you will find the outline of the paper. It is a basic structure, but one that we hope will allow us to delve into the thick of the issues that we are trying to understand. What is hugely important to us is that we don’t duplicate existing efforts, but instead connect the dots between disparate writing that has already been produced. We want to be thorough and we want to be critical. We want to be able to question what we think we know and also hold our hands up about what we don’t. We want to avoid jargon, but also be thoughtful about the meanings that we commonly attach to the words that we use. Most of all though, we want to move our thinking forward so that we can design and implement better programs and really move towards our development goals.
As always, we welcome comment and response from you and will be happy to hear if you have opinions on this endeavor or suggestions on how to approach it. We also welcome suggestions on existing resources that will help inform this writing project, so please feel free to share them with us.
- Radha & Jason
Open Paper Outline
Section 1: Introduction
This section will serve as the foundation for the paper, providing an overview of each of the development approaches, an historical perspective on their application and an overview of where they sit in relation to other prominent economic strengthening approaches. Given that this is the first section of the paper, it is likely that amendments will be made to it once all of the sections have been completed.
Section 2: What do we know about economic strengthening initiatives for youth in conflict-affected settings?
This section will draw out defining characteristics of both youth and conflict-affected environments so that we can look at generally recognized truths and frequent assumptions or unproven hypotheses as they relate to economic strengthening initiatives. We will look at common development objectives for economic strengthening programs for youth in conflict and will set the objectives that we will aim to use as parameters for our discussion through the remainder of the paper.
Section 3: Sustainable Livelihoods Approach and Value Chains Approach in relation to youth.
Section 4: Sustainable Livelihoods Approach and Value Chains Approach in relation to conflict
These sections look discretely at each of the approaches in relation to youth and conflict, examining in turn what works well and not well for each; what they each emphasize in terms of programming content; and what each of them suggests as important or unimportant in terms of their application. We will aim to ensure that each of these approaches is looked at both individually and in comparison to the other so that we may steadily build up our understanding of the connections or gaps between the two.
Section 5: Livelihoods and Markets for Youth in Conflict
The final section aims to pose recommendations for how programs may concretely draw from the two approaches to design and implement more effective economic strengthening programs for youth in conflict. The underlying assumption for this closing section is that integration of the two approaches is both possible and more effective than using one or the other.
Click here to read previous posts in this series.
After more than 21 years of civil war, relative peace returned in 2005 to Southern Sudan with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) between the government of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM). The treaty has brought a fragile peace, but development efforts in Southern Sudan have been hampered by significant delays in making operational some of the vital commissions called for by the peace accord. As a result, Southern Sudan continues to struggle against the devastation caused by the civil war and remains one of the poorest areas in the world, with an estimated 90 percent of the population earning less than $1 per day. The war destroyed infrastructure, institutions and physical capital, crippling economic growth and livelihoods at all levels.
Within this context, ACDI/VOCA implements the Agricultural Market and Enterprise Development (AMED) program to improve the environment for increasing private sector employment opportunities in Juba, Yei and Wau. The project accomplishes this through small business development, skills and asset building, improved governance, and increased business productivity.
AMED is a three-year USAID-funded project implemented in collaboration with four other U.S. private voluntary organizations under the Volunteers in Economic Growth Alliance (VEGA). Despite the enormous challenges and difficult operating environment, the fragile peace under the CPA presents an unprecedented opportunity to turn the years of war, displacement and underdevelopment into a new era of peace and prosperity. AMED works in partnership with local government authorities and civil society, responding to requests for assistance to build programs and markets and to provide services in response to needs of emerging private enterprises.
ACDI/VOCA builds capacity for the development of agricultural markets, particularly the establishment and growth of marketing associations and cooperatives. By using international and regional volunteer consultants and in-house expertise, ACDI/VOCA provides technical assistance to various entities, including government, farmers and development organizations, on the market-oriented development of specific agricultural sectors as well as general agricultural markets. ACDI/VOCA has provided technical assistance to 175 government extension officers and 1,045 farmers through FaaB (Farming as a Business) training. ACDI/VOCA is also supporting the reintegration of displaced populations by providing livelihoods training primarily for youth, ex-combats and women to ensure sustainable income generation and increase employment opportunities.
Alex Gebrehiwot
agebrehiwot@acdivoca.org
Sept 2004 - Sept 2008
Location
The Education Development Center has produced a cross-sectoral assessment of the Youth of Yemen, as part of a EQUIP3 USAID-funded initiative. The Yemen Stability Initiative (YSI) endeavors to address alienation among disaffected, disenfranchised, vulnerable youth ages 15–24. It addresses their difficulties through an array of activities and programs to increase their civic participation, life skills competence, health, violent extremism management and mitigation capabilities, and livelihood opportunities.
The study focused on key youth issues:
- Stability
- Unstable Economy
- Population Pressures and Growing Youth Bulge
- Rising Rates of Youth Unemployment
- Illiteracy and Educational Attainment
- A Wide Range of Health Concerns
