Beirut, 7 July 2011 (United Nations Information Service) – A United Nations report released today on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) showed that Western Asia made good progress in improving the survival and health of mothers and children, as maternal deaths declined by 52 percent between 1990 and 2008 largely due to increases in skilled attendance at birth, skilled antenatal care and contraceptive use, as well as a drop in adolescent childbearing.

“You, senior officials, owe it to us to remember that we are the future of nations and that to the extent you care for us you care for the future of our nations. What you sow in us today you shall reap in our country tomorrow.” That was the message Iraqi and Lebanese children asked ESCWA and its Executive Secretary Rima Khalaf to relay to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the world community.

Beirut, 9 September 2011 (UN Information Services) — Main challenges to developing high-performing and sustainable social security systems in most member countries of ESCWA include the lack of data on social protection, political will and good governance, a meeting of the 14-member UN regional commission concluded today.

Beirut, 27 September 2011 (UN Information Service) — ESCWA today held a workshop on “Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) to promote sustainable agricultural production, food quality and safety, environmental protection and trade in the Arab Region,” at the UN House in Beirut. The workshop was organized in cooperation with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and under the patronage of the Lebanese Minister of Agriculture Hussein Al Hajj Hassan.