The Palestinian Participatory Poverty Assessment: national report: the poor speak out ...

The determination of poverty characteristics and distribution in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is of paramount importance in formulating policies aiming at poverty reduction. This guide presents a briefing on the Palestinian Participatory Poverty Assessment project undertaken in the year 2000. It was initiated to address criticisms levelled against the traditional form of assessment, the poverty line, and to allow for broader poverty assessment which focuses on the viewpoints of the poor and stimulates policy changes. The guide outlines the goals of the project, the methodology and approach, instruments used for data collection and analysis, and suggestions on how to cope with issues arising from the implementation of these instruments. Finally, the structure of the District Reports is presented which summarises the views of poor people into eight sections: demographic, economic and social background of the district; views of poor groups of their situation; poor peopleÆs evaluation of services provided; poor peopleÆs suggestions to eradicate poverty; view of stakeholders of poverty and their vision of what is needed to eradicate it; recommendations for poverty reduction; and annexes.