The Role of food aid and livelihood interventions in mediating the relationship between household’s resilience and economic empowerment

Abstract

The concept of resilience has been utilized to examine more complex ecological and socioeconomic systems such as agri-food systems in developing countries. Gaza has one of the high unemployment rates globally, therefore keeping people imprisoned in poverty and dependent on external support to existing. The strategy for poverty reduction in Gaza primarily consists of giving food aid or multi-purpose cash-based assistance and livelihood projects; nevertheless, this does not reduce unemployment or poverty in the long term. Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) have increased their efforts to provide more effective and comprehensive interventions to the affected populations, especially in the Gaza Strip. The research implemented a quantitative methodology distributed to over 300 household benefited from food aid and livelihood interventions through the NGOs in Gaza Strip. The questionnaire had been constructed based on the Likert Scale ranging from 1 (Strongly Agree) to 5 (Strongly Disagree). The data had been treated using SPSS statistical tool and AMOS for structural equation modeling and analysis to study the mediating effect of food aid and livelihood interventions on the relationship between household resilience and economic empowerment in the Gaza Strip. The research found that the resilience ability of many families in the Gaza Strip has increased because of the humanitarian assistance provided by NGOs, which lead to reducing poverty and household resilience plays a vital role in minimizing poverty and alleviating suffering through empowering and engaging them in the economy. The research also found that food aid tends to critically impact the relationship between household resilience and economic empowerment. NGOs play an essential role in engaging the poor in the economy through providing food security and encouraging new investments and efforts to improve help effectiveness via greater coordination among players involved in the implementation and better planning, targeting, and providing aid to people in Gaza Strip. The research findings also showed that livelihood interventions mediate the relationship between household resilience and economic empowerment in Gaza Strip. The structural model supports that the livelihood interventions modulated the association between household resilience and economic empowerment.