Continuing the previous partnership with UNICEF Middle East and North Africa Regional Office (MENARO) since 2017, the goal of this project was to provide Technical Assistance to UNICEF Country Offices in the region to support activities related to social protection polocies, including responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, at the national level.

Middle East and North Africa

Knowledge Production

Social Protection

Technical assistance to UNICEF Country Offices and Regional Office in MENA, including:

• Gulf Area Office: Contribution to assessment of social protection responses to Covid-19 in 4 GCC countries (project with UNICEF GAO) 

• Iran: 5 technical expert sessions with MSCLW staff and experts on social protection (from Brazil and China); Mapping of social protection programmes in Brazil; Technical Advice on Cash Plus programme in Iran and review of related documents; Policy Brief on Social Protection in Iran

• Iraq: Peer review of and technical discussion on proposals for social protection reform;

• Jordan: Concept Note for a chapter on shock-responsive social protection in the national Social Protection Strategy;

• Lebanon: Peer review of proposal for Targeting Methodology for Emergency Crisis-Response Social Safety Net Program;

• Libya: Support to development of Roadmap for a future national social protection policy (see here)  and technical training in Tunisia (see here)

• Oman: Policy brief on national cash transfer programme and social protection responses to Covid-19 in the country; Contribution to project between UNICEF Oman and IPC-IG (Vulnerability Assessment and Social Protection Policy Development in Oman)

• Syria: Assessment report on impact of Covid-19 in 4 areas: (1) Living Conditions, (2) Health and Nutrition, (3) Education, and (4) Adolescents Development and Participation (based on data collected by UNICEF Syria). Report contributed to UN Syria Joint Rapid COVID-19 Socio-Economic Impact Assessment;

• Yemen: Short brief on considerations for cash transfers for Children with Disability, especially in humanitarian context; Peer review of planning documents for Humanitarian Cash Transfers in the country; Review of Concept Note on Guest Speakers Series on social protection capacity strengthening; Review of available data sets to evaluate feasibility of preparing an advocacy brief on multi-dim child poverty in Yemen (resulted in separate project with UNICEF Yemen)

• Regional Office: Contribution to the adaptation of the TRANSFORM capacity building initiative to the Arab Region

Events

• Organisation of the Arab Ministerial Forum 2021 (online) in MENA
• Webinar on Young People’s Transition to Work (YPTW), including 2 preparatory workshops with young people
• Webinar on Integrating social protection with child protection services for better outcomes for children
• Webinar on Iran's Welfare System: Towards an Integrated Social Protection System for children and adolescents

Knowledge Production

• Series of 4 Practitioners Notes on inclusive shock-responsive social protection with companion One Pagers

• Research Report ‘Social protection responses to COVID-19 in MENA: Design, implementation and child-sensitivity’, a companion One Pager and accompanying 20 Country One Pagers

• Research Report ‘Integrating social protection with child protection services for better outcomes for children in MENA’ and a companion One Pager