Nearly 65% of adults in the Arab region remain excluded from formal financial systems, according to a new report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). The Annual SDG Review 2025 paints a sobering picture of persistent financial exclusion that is undermining the region’s ability …
Nearly 65% of adults in the Arab region remain excluded from formal financial systems, according to a new report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). The Annual SDG Review 2025 paints a sobering picture of persistent financial exclusion that is undermining the region’s ability …
Economies in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region are expected to grow by 5.2% in 2022, the fastest rate since 2016, on the back of oil-price windfalls benefitting the region’s oil exporters. But heightened uncertainty surrounds this forecast due to the war in Ukraine and ongoing threats from …
The Comparative Study on Empowering Women in Water Diplomacy in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region has been elaborated with the aim to identify the similarities and the differences in the challenges female water experts face across the five countries (Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine), and to identify …
This report predicts that unless immediate and bold action is taken by the international community to beat back the catastrophic effects of COVID-19 on refugee education, the potential of millions of young refugees living in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities will be further threatened. The data in the …
This report is produced by OCHA Lebanon in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It covers the period from 4 to 5 August 2020. On 4 August, a warehouse at the Beirut Port exploded, causing widespread casualties and material damage. National and international search and rescue teams and disaster management experts have …
Today, following consultations with the government and international partners, the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator ad interim and humanitarian partners are launching the Lebanon Emergency Appeal. The Appeal, requesting for US$350 million, is to address critical areas of humanitarian intervention to protect the lives of people in Lebanon who are most …
This paper summarizes the core environmental challenges in the Middle East-North Africa (MENA) region. It is an adapted and extended version of the Environmental Outlook for the West Asia Region, published following the conference “Environmental challenges in the MENA region: The long road from conflict to cooperation”.There are multiple understandings …
This volume examines the causes and consequences of drought on Lebanon’s agriculture. Lebanon is getting hotter and dryer. Projections show droughts will likely become more frequent and severe. Climate change, El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) impact the occurrence of drought to varying degrees, with …
This study assesses the potential for manufacturing renewable energy components in Jordan, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates. All three countries possess strong market potential, combined with existing industrial assets and a degree of prior experience with renewable-based power generation. All three, furthermore, have adopted ambitious national targets and support …
This handbook provides practical guidance for planning and implementing community-led ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) in three vulnerable ecosystems: mountains, drylands and coastal areas. It is intended for project managers, practitioners and technical specialists. The guidance is structured around eight key steps in the project cycle, and includes general implementation protocols for …
Considered as a hotspot for biodiversity in the Mediterranean Basin, Lebanon is currently witnessing anarchic urbanization and unprecedented destruction of its natural habitats. Unregulated urbanization is also compounded by the surge in Lebanon’s population due to the unabated influx of Syrian refugees since 2012. This work aims to define Important …
Amsterdam – A shift has occurred in the MENA region over the past 30 years, seeing chronic diseases take more lives than their infectious counterparts. This same shift is taking place in developing areas across the world where the rate of death by infectious diseases has begun to decrease, thanks …
Conflict is worsening global starvation, the United Nations said on Tuesday, as it called for greater peace-building efforts to end hunger for almost 500 million people living in war zones. In the world's eight hungriest countries, at least one in four people do not have enough to eat, two U.N. …
The open burning of waste in Lebanon poses serious health risks, Human Rights Watch warned in a report released on Friday, blaming decades-old, across the board government failure. The New York-based watchdog said the crisis, which escalated in 2015 when waste management largely collapsed across Lebanon, was a particular threat …
This compilation of case studies is the product of water integrity action plans developed and enforced during implementation of the Regional Capacity Building Programme on Water Integrity for the MENA region. The Programme works to improve transparency and accountability practices in water resources management across the MENA region, including in …
With child labour soaring in Lebanon following the outbreak of war in Syria, the United Nations published on Wednesday the first guide in Arabic to help farmers and officials seeking to protect them from risks like sexual abuse and injury. Children as young as five, largely Syrian refugees and poor …
Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Tuesday signed the country's first animal welfare bill into law, guaranteeing that domestic and wild animals will be legally protected from abuse. The bill is the culmination of years of lobbying for the protection of animals in the Mediterranean country, the Animals Lebanon NGO said. …
Three major international agendas concern building resilience to climate change, achieving sustainable development in marginal dryland environments and responding to humanitarian crises. These agendas often compete with each other for support and attention. When crises become acute, sustainable development and the climate change agenda may suffer reversals that will leave …
This Synthesis Report provides an overview of the main water integrity risks in Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia, Morocco and Palestine. It also identifies the capacity gaps that must be addressed to reduce these risks. Based on these findings, a set of policy recommendations to improve national water governance and integrity in …
War-torn Syria’s water supplies are deteriorating fast, triggering migration and disease and stoking a pollution crisis in neighbouring Lebanon, hydrologists and humanitarian groups have warned. “Water security continues to deteriorate for many civilians [in Syria]. Evidence shows that control over power and water infrastructure is [being] used as a weapon …
