NGOs representatives and experts called for the need to coordinate efforts between various governmental and non-governmental agencies to mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic on various economic and social sectors and vulnerable groups in society.

This came during the second session of the Palestinian Non-Governmental Organisations Network (PNGO) conference entitled, "The Role of Civil Society Organizations in Confronting the Repercussions of the Corona Pandemic", which was implemented in partnership with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. The participants called for the necessity of working to provide the resilience components of the most affected sectors, especially the owners of small and micro-enterprises, specifically women and youth.

Mr. Mohammed Salha, PNGO Steering Committee member, chaired the session and stressed the importance of civil society organizations' role in facing the repercussions of the Coronavirus. He added that the repercussions of the outbreak of the Coronavirus exceeded the health situation and affected various economic, social, and humanitarian sectors.

Mr. Anas Musallam, Gaza Operations Coordinator in the Food Security Sector, emphasized in his paper, "The reality of food security in the Gaza Strip in light of the Coronavirus pandemic", that the food security situation in the Strip is deteriorating due to a bizarre combination of economic and political factors and closures, leading adding insult to injury.

Musallam explained that all economic sectors have been directly and significantly affected by the pandemic and that reflected the closure of economic facilities and the reduction of the movement of citizens in general. The trade sector is the most affected sector with a 26% deficit, followed by the health, education, and services sector with a 25% deficit.

The construction sector comes in third with a 14% deficit, preceded by the transportation sector with an 11% deficit. The agriculture sector comes after them with a 7% deficit accompanied by restaurants and hotels with a 10%deficit, and a 7% deficit for other separate sectors.

The measures taken to limit the repercussions of the pandemic, according to Musallam, have created difficulties for farmers to reach their lands in order to continue the daily farming work and harvest the fruits to be sold in markets. Thus, vegetables witnessed a clear decrease in their quality, linked to their high prices. The same applies to the price of poultry meat and eggs, which caused great losses.

Mohsen Abu Ramadan, the director of Dr. Haider Abdul Shafi for Culture and Development Center, highlighted in his paper, "The Impact of the Corona Pandemic on the Economic and Social Conditions in the Gaza Strip", that the Corona pandemic came in the middle of a complex crisis that the Palestinian economy is experiencing in the Gaza Strip.

The pandemic deepened the state of marginalization, exacerbated the manifestations of poverty and unemployment, and produced horrible social manifestations such as beggary, child labor, youth unenrollment, frustration and immigration, and not participating in social and political activities.

The pandemic affected the pattern of social relations through quarantine, Abu Ramadan indicated, which boosted isolationism and created a pause in the integration of social activities. This problem grew and reached many social and economic sectors, especially that online meetings do not promote a dynamic outcome as seen in the education sector.

Abu Ramadan called for the necessity of concerting the roles of the government, private sector, and civil society organizations in order to work on rehabilitating the affected sectors, especially the owners of small and micro enterprises, specifically women and youth.

In other words, he asserted that the largest role of the private sector, specifically abroad, is to provide a fund capable of supporting the owners of small projects, small initiatives, and micro-enterprises, and integrating some graduates into the labor market by various means.

For her part, Ms. Amal Seyam, Director of the Women's Affairs Center, expressed in her paper on “The Status of Palestinian Women in Light of the Coronavirus Pandemic”, that the precautionary measures taken to limit the virus did not include interventions regarding important issues, the most important of which is gender-based violence.

During the outbreak of Corona, this was not considered a priority, especially in light of the high rates of violence. The pandemic was viewed as a health matter without paying attention to its implications on other life aspects.

Seyam emphasized that the Corona pandemic contributed to the manifestation of cases of gender-based violence in all its forms and types. The psychological, social, and economic pressure that accompanied the Corona pandemic, fear for life and others, are the main reasons for its rapid increase. In turn, these circumstances created a hotbed for tensions and fights within the family household leading to violence cases.

The situation does not stop here, but it reached a stage where the violence victims are left with the perpetrators in the same house forcibly.

Mr. Jamal Al-Rozzi, the Director of National Society for Rehabilitation in Gaza and PNGO rehabilitation sector coordinator, stressed in his paper "The reality of people with disabilities in the Gaza Strip in light of the Corona pandemic" that people with disabilities face many challenges, the most prominent of which is their right to obtain basic services such as health, education, as well as their right to safely access services and information.

Al-Rozzi referred to the role of civil organizations during the period of closure and emergency as vital, since they directly contributed to providing some of the needs of people with disabilities, such as providing assistive devices, psychosocial support services, hygiene kits for home sterilization, and personal protection, in addition to medical supplies.

At the opening of the session Mr. Amjad Al Shawa, PNGO director, started saying, "Civil society organizations are, and still, reaching out to partner with the government, the private sector, and others to face the pandemic and other challenges facing the Palestinian people."

"The pandemic doubled the suffering of marginalized and poor groups," he added, "especially persons with disabilities, women, and children. The workforce was disrupted, and young people lost their jobs, while their education was negatively affected."

Finally, Al Shawa stressed the need to provide opportunities for youth and women to participate in public and political life, and to end the root causes of the Palestinian people's misery. The ongoing political division, the Israeli occupation, and the blockade participate heavily in making economic, living, and social conditions a living hell.