Palestinian Children - Issues and Statistics,1999 Child Statistics Series (No.2)  ( )  11/28/2005

Palestinian Children – Issues and Statistics
Annual Report-1999
Executive Summary - April, 1999

• Explanatory Notes
• Introduction
• Socio Economic Reality
• Child Health
• Child Education Reality
• Cultural and Leisure Activities
• Children in Need of Special Protection
• Children Under Poverty Line
• Child Work

Socio-Economic Reality:
Distribution of Population in Palestinian Territory by Age Groups, End of 1998

Child Health:
Percentage of Reported Child Mortality by Age, Sex and Region, 1997
Percentage of Children (12-23 Months) and their Immunization Intake by Region, 1996
Percent Distribution of Reported Infant Mortality by Cause and Region, 1997
Percentage of Children (Under Five Years Old) Who had Accidents by Type of Accident and Place of Occurrence, 1996

Child Education Reality:
Percentage Distribution of Students by Supervising Authority for Scholastic Year 1998/1999
Net Enrollment Rate in Kindergartens and Gross Enrollment Rate in Basic Stage by Region and Sex, for Scholastic Years 1997/1998-1998/1999
Students Per Class for Scholastic Years 1995/1996-1998/1999
Repition Rates at the Basic Stage by Region and Sex, 1994/1995-1997/1998
Drop-Out Rates at the Basic Stage by Sex and Region, 1994/1995-1997/1998

Cultural and Leisure Activities:
Distribution of Children (5-17 Years Old) by Daily Activities, 1998
Distribution of Children’s Libraries by Type of Services, 1998
Number of Summer Camps Supervised by Ministry of Youth by Number of Participants, Summer 1998
Percent of Children (Under 18 Years Old) by Availability of Computer, Television and Library to the Household, 1997*

Children in Need of Special Protection:
Distribution of Special Protection Cases Treated by Ministry of Social Affairs, 1998
Percent Distribution of Reported Disability Among Children (Under 18 Years Old) by Cause and Sex, 1997*
Children (Under 18 Years Old) Who are Residing in Orphanages, 1998
Number of Juvenile Delinquents in Custody and Convicted, 1996-1997

Children Under Poverty Line:
Poverty Ratios Among Children (Under 18 Years Old) in the Palestinian Territory, 1997
Poverty Ratios Among Children (Under 18 Years Old) by Place of Residence, 1997
Poverty Ratios Among Children (Under 18 Years Old) in the Palestinian Territory by Head of the Household Occupation, 1997
Poverty Ratios Among Children (Under 18 Years Old) by Sex of Head of the Household, 1997

Child Work:
Percentage Distribution of Children (5-17 Years Old) by Employment Status, 1998
Percentage Distribution of Working Children (5-17 Years Old) by Different Age Groups, 1998
Distribution of Children (5-17 Years Old) in the Palestinian Territory by School Attendance and Employment Status, 1998
Percentage Distribution of Children (6-17 Years Old) not Attending School by Reason for Leaving School, Region and Sex, 1998

Explanatory Notes:

The Following symbolize the attached explanation

Numbers and percentages in tables are not necessarily added to the values total because of rounding.

Introduction:

The second annual statistical report “Palestine Children–Issues and Statistics” is the outcome of the efforts exerted by Child Statistics Program (CSP) that established by the PCBS in 1997 with a generous support from the government of Sweden through Swedish Sida. This report constitutes another solid step towards setting up a national mechanism for monitoring the reality and status of the Palestinian children and the extent to which they enjoy their rights. Through close cooperation and consultations with the governmental agencies, the team responsible for this project worked hard on defining the main indicators essential for measuring the efficiency of the monitoring process along with its appropriateness in relation to meeting the needs of the users. The basic objective for statistical data collection, analysis and dissemination is to promote awareness among decision makers, planners, non–governmental organizations and parties concerned with defending children issues in relation to planning, legislation prioritization and meeting pertinent needs.

The report comprises the set of indicators recommended in the users–producers workshops organized in the different Palestine governorate by the CSP throughout 1998. These indicators were categorized into seven basic topics, each of which constitutes a separate chapter. It is worthy to point that our classification was in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of Children (CRC), 1989 as a general framework, as well as the Palestinian National Plan of Action, 1995 adopted as a special framework. One of the most important recommendations of the users–producers workshops stresses the need to compile data on children aged (0–17 years old), in accordance with article (1) of the Convention on the Rights of children (CRC).

The report involves indicators on the socio–economic reality of the Palestinian children. The importance of these indicators stems from their significance to understand the socio– economic data in a way that serves the fulfillment of the child rights including honorable life. Likewise, the report involves indicators on child health and educational/cultural conditions. The importance of the health indicators is that they make it possible to monitor children’s rights to survival and wellbeing. The educational/cultural indicators are essential to ensure children rights to proper development. The report involves other indicators on children in need of special protection. This group involves juvenile offenders, disabled children institutionalized children, children prone to violence children under poverty line, and child work. It is noteworthy that special attention has been given to child work. The PCBS undertook necessary preparations to conduct a survey on children work and activities aged (5–17 years old) along with children under poverty, constituting the first statistical material on poor children in Palestine.

In issuing this report, the PCBS hopes that it managed to add value and provide an efficient tool for understanding the reality of the Palestinian children and their needs in a way that enhance planning levels and the setting up of developmental programs to meet the needs and rights of our children in Palestine.

•  More than half of the Palestinian population (53.3%) is under 18 years old. Estimated population by the end of 1998 indicates that, the number of children under 18 years old amounted to 1.546 million, 49% of which are females.
•  Almost 40% of the females married in 1997 were under 18 years old. Nevertheless, this percentage decreases to 2.7% among males.
•  The Census of 1997 indicates that more than 43,000 children (under 18 years old) live either with the mother or the father, 92.5% and 7.5% respectively.
•  Around 12% of children (under 18 years old) live with unemployed heads of households, in 1997.
•  The households of 16% of the Palestinian children are not connected to public water network. Furthermore, 5% and 66% of the Palestinian children households are not connected to public electricity network and public sewage network, respectively, in 1997.
•  Available national accounts statistics for 1996 indicate that the annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in Palestine amounts to $1537, with clear variations between the West Bank and Gaza Strip (except for that part of East Jerusalem annexed by Israel after the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territory in 1967), It amounted to $1691, $1232, and $1900 in the West Bank Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, respectively.

Child Health:

•  The majority of child mortality cases occur among children in the age group (0-4 years old), almost 82% of the death cases occurs in this age group, in 1997.
•  Prematurely constitute the main cause of infant mortality in Gaza Strip, whereas prenatal conditions constitute the main cause of infant mortality in the West Bank, in 1997.
•  Respiratory system diseases and infections constitute the main cause of under-five-child mortality in the West Bank and Gaza Strip during the year 1997. However regional differences appear as per the subsequent leading causes of child mortality, (namely digestive system diseases, congenital anomalies, tumors, septicemia, road accidents, and meningitis).
•  Available data for 1996 indicate that the immunization coverage for DPT (diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus triple) polio, measles and tuberculosis exceeds 95%. Nevertheless, certain variations exist between the West Bank and Gaza Strip in relation to the third and fourth vaccines. The overall immunization coverage amounted to 94% and 75.4% in Gaza Strip and West Bank respectively.
•  7.2% of children (0-4 years old) suffer from stunting. While 4% suffer from underweight. Available data for 1996 indicate that 2.8% of the Palestinian children suffer from wasting. Gender differentials are slight in wasting and underweight. Nevertheless, females are prone to stunting than males.
•  Available data for 1996 show that the majority of accidents among children (0-4 years old) occur at home. Sequentially, these accidents are burns, poisoning injuries and fractures. This implies that public health education, awareness and primary health care at all levels are key strategies for minimizing these accidents.

Child Education Reality:

•  In the scholastic year 1998/1999, a total of 889,895 students participated in kindergartens, basic and secondary level education. Females comprise 49 % of all enrolled children in all stages.
•  The government provides schooling to 61.7 % of the total number of students. UNRWA services an additional 23.7 % of the total, and the rest of the students are enrolled in the private sector, for scholastic year 1998/1999.
•  In the scholastic year 1998/1999 over 77,000 children attend kindergartens run exclusively by the private sector but licensed by the Ministry of Education (MOE). 48% of these children are female.
•  About 33.8% of the Palestinian children (4-5 years old) attend kendergarten in scholastic year 1998/1999.
•  Over 746,000 students are enrolled in the basic stage. The net enrolment rate at the basic level is almost 91% for both boys and girls for the scholastic year 1998/1999.
•  In the scholastic year 1998/1999 a total of 65,808 students are enrolled in secondary schools. Most students choose to follow one of two academic (Scientific or Literary) streams. In contrast, 3.3% of secondary school students choose a vocational education.
•  Almost 50% of secondary school students are female. Gender-based differences are apparent in enrolment levels in each of the secondary streams. Females comprise 54% of total enrolment in the literary stream, but 44% of students in the science track. Females make up only 21.6% of the total enrolment in the vocational stream, for the scholastic year 1998/1999.
•  The Population, Housing and Establishment - 1997 indicate that 41.7% of children with disability, in the Palestinian Territory, attend school.
•  Drop out and repetition undermine the efficacy of the educational system. Nevertheless, it is noted that the repetition rate in the basic stage has been decreasing since the scholastic year 1994/1995. The rate for males decreased from 5.04% in the scholastic year 1994/1995 to 2.97% in the scholastic year 1997/1998, and from 4.38% to 2.44% for females in the same scholastic years.
•  The percentage of dropouts increases in the secondary stage. By secondary stage level, 8.28% of girls and 4.31% of boys leave school, in the scholastic year 1997/1998.
•  Students per teacher ratios vary according to supervising authority and region. In the scholastic year 1998/1999 the highest ratios are reported for UNRWA schools, where there are 39 students per teacher as compared with 29 or 19 students per teacher in government and private schools, respectively.

Cultural and Leisure Activities:

•  The percentage of Palestinian households (involving children) that have personal computers is still very limited, 3.5% with regional variations (2.4% in Gaza Strip and 4.5% in the West Bank), in 1997.
•  The Population, Housing and Establishment Census- 1997 indicate that television is the most common media, cultural and recreational devise in the Palestinian Territory. This devise is available to almost 87.6% of the Palestinian households. This reflects the extent to which children use the television in developing their daily culture, taking into account that 95% of the Palestinian children watch the television on a daily basis, according to Child Work and Activities Survey in 1998.
•  A household library is not considered among the priorities of the Palestinian households, only 13% of the Palestinian households in the year 1997 (with children) have libraries. This of course denies the child access to one of the most valuable resources essential for promoting awareness and culture.
•  Schools and kindergartens play a pivotal role in providing cultural and recreational resources for children, e.g. books, personal computers, televisions, videos …etc. Available statistics for scholastic year 1996/1997 highlight clear regional differences between the schools in the different Palestinian governorate in this respect. Almost all schools and kindergartens have libraries (almost 98%). Nevertheless, there are regional differences in terms of the number of books from a school to another. As for the average of children access to personal computers services in the West Bank, available data show that computers are available in 20.2% of the kindergartens and 45.8% of the schools. On the other hand, 12.4% of the kindergartens and 55.3% of the schools in Gaza Strip have personal computers.
•  Recreational television programs are highly preferred by the children (9-17 years old). Almost 77% of the Palestinian children prefer watching entertainment programs compared to 66% prefer watching children programs, according to 1996 data.
•  Males (9-17 years old) visit sport and culture clubs more often than girls. Available data for 1996 indicate that for every 100 boys visiting sports clubs, 28 females (9-17 years old) visit sports clubs.
•  The number of summer camps organized by the Ministry of Youth and Sports amounted to 134 camps in 1998, of which 85 and 49 camps for boys and girls, respectively. The number of children participated in these camps was 42,000 participants (15,000 and 27000 participants in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, respectively).

Children in Need of Special Protection:

•  It is reported that 1,980 children, 1,239 in the West Bank and 741 in Gaza Strip have been residing in orphanages during 1998. There are 1095 boys and 885 girls in these orphanages. In 1996, there were over 2,800 institutionalized children. In the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
•  The Population, Housing and Establishment Census- 1997 indicate that there are over 15,567 children in the West Bank and Gaza Strip who suffer from one or more types of disabilities on a chronic basis. This indicates that 1,120 out of every 100,000 Palestinian children with one or more disabilities.
•  Movement disorders are the most commonly reported disabilities for children (23%) followed by mental (15%), speech (10%), multiple (10%), and sight (9.5%) disabilities, respectively, according to 1997 data.
•  The overall rate of disabilities in 1997 is higher among males (1,252 per 100,000) than females (980 per 100,000).
•  60% of disabilities among children are caused by congenital factors, in 1997.
•  In 1997 children with disability in Gaza (1,154 per 100,000 children) have a higher risk of suffering from disabilities compared to children in the West Bank (1,096 per 100,000).
•  Illiteracy among the disabled children is higher than among the healthy children. 22% of disabled children between the ages of (10-17 years old) were reported to be illiterate. While only 4% of overall child population (10-17 years old) were reported to be illiterate, in 1997.
•  The number of children convicted for serious crimes increased twelve fold between 1996 and 1997 (25 youth were convicted for committing serious crimes in 1996 compared to 301 youth convicted in 1997.
•  The charges of convicted children vary from serious crimes including vandalism to murder/attempted murder, theft/burglary, and physical assault of others, public disturbances, immoral and sexual offenses, and other offenses. Assault of others and theft/ burglary accounted for the majority of offenses committed by children between 1996 and 1997 (42% and 41%, respectively).
•  Data from the Ministry of Social Affairs (MOSA) issued that it managed to handle 919 cases through 25 social workers engaged in child protection in the year 1998. It is believed that this number is less than 5% of all children in need of assistance.

Children Under Poverty Line:

Based on the database of Expenditure and Consumption Survey, 1997, which was conducted by PCBS, the following indicators were identified:

(Selected Figures)

•  The poverty rate among children in the Palestinian Territory amounts to 26%. It is unfortunate that children constitute the majority of the Palestinian poor community (54%).
•  Almost 17% of the children under poverty line suffer from severe poverty, 39% and 61% in the West Bank and Gaza Strip respectively.
•  Many factors causes poverty rates to increase, e.g. household size, number of children, place of residence …etc.
•  Children members to households headed by women suffer from poverty comparison to children belonging to households headed by men.
•  Higher educational attainment for the head of the household minimizes poverty rate among children.
•  The occupation of the head of the household plays a major role in determining the level of poverty among children. Children belonging to households headed by persons working in primary occupations, agriculture and fishing are more prone to poverty than children belonging to households headed by persons employed in machine operating (the least vulnerable group).
•  Institutions that engaged in supporting poor families do not play an effective role in eliminating poverty. This is due to the fact that the support they provide to the poor households is of an alleviative nature (rather than developmental).

Child Work:

Based on the database of Child Work and Activity Survey, which was conducted by PCBS in the period of November/20/1998- January/7/1999, the following indicators were identified:

•  The number of children engaged in paid or unpaid work in the Palestinian Territory amounts to 63,600 children during the last 12 months preceding the interview date. This figure constitutes 6.2% of the total number of the Palestinian children aged (5–17 years old).
•  Many of the girls engaged in household activities are not classified as employed children, as stated in the international definition of child employment. This result in considering 1.6% of the girls aged (5–17 years old) as employed compared to 10.5% among boys for the same age group.
•  Almost two thirds of the employed children seek work to increase the household income or assist in household enterprises.
•  Normally, child employment may imply quitting school; 45.4% of the employed children do not go to school.
•  The educational attainment level of the head of the household, his\her income level and the household size play a major role in defining employment levels among children. Small households with high educational and income levels involve a very minor employment level whereas big households with low educational and income levels involve a very high employment level.
•  There is a strong relationship between the occupation of the head of the household and child work. It is noted that 43% of the employed children have fathers employed in primary occupations.
•  Employers offering work opportunities to children (15-17 years old) do not abide by the Work Act, which makes them loose many rights and benefits. It is noted that only 1.1% of the establishments employing children ask them to undergo a medical check up, taking into account that the medical check up constitutes an indicator for measuring the extent to which these establishments apply the Work Act.
•  Normally, employed children are prone to work accidents and injuries in the course of their work. Such injuries varied from fractures, wounds and contusions. Furthermore, they are prone to physical and immoral violence. Available statistics indicate that the physical violence is the less prominent type, 11% of the employed children are prone to immoral violence, compared to 0.6% prone to physical violence.
•  Employed children normally work in inappropriate work conditions. Around 30% of the employed children undertake risky activities. Furthermore, a considerable number of the children employed engaged in risky activities do not use preventive tools and equipment (71% of the children engaged in risky activities do not use preventive tools and equipment).
•  Employed children undergo evident exploitation from their employers. This exploitation is more prominent in the Gaza Strip than in the West Bank. The daily wage of the majority of children employed in Gaza Strip does not exceed $4.
•  There is an evident violation of labour laws in relation to work hours allowed by law for child employment (Age 15-17 years). Most of the employers in the Palestinian Territory or Israel violate law in this respect, 89% of the employed children work more than six hours a day.
•  There is a clear variance in the views of employed children’s fathers in relation to children work. Some fathers stated that they would like to have their children work to help them in providing the income necessary to meet the basic needs of their households, 65.5%. Other fathers noted that although they deem the work of their children as “unessential”, they think it is needed to a certain extent. On the other hand, some fathers thought that there is no need for their children to work.
•  Children have their own point of view in their future in relation to work or educational attainment. It was found out that 39% of the employed children would rather work than go to school, compared to 28% of the employed children who would rather go to school than work. On the other hand, it was found that 19% of the employed children who would rather school than work but would like to work during holidays only. Finally, it was found that 14% of the employed children would like to work and study and the same time. These percentages clearly vary between the West Bank and Gaza Strip

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