ESCWA is convening a session on “Informing the SDGs through the Arab MDG+ Initiative” as part of the MENA Focus days organized within the World Water Week by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) and taking place from 28 August to 2 September 2016 in Stockholm. The event is planned for Wednesday August 31st in collaboration with the Arab Countries Water Utilities Association (ACWUA), the League of Arab States (LAS) and with the support of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA). The MENA Focus days event is dedicated to water and sustainable growth in the Middle East and North Africa, aiming to enhance experience and knowledge sharing as well as to promote MENA priority issues in the global water agenda.

The High-Level Seminar is co-organized by the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) and hosted by the General Authority of Statistics in Saudi Arabia. It will seek a collaborative regional response to the need for economic statistics that support evidence‐based policymaking within the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Lebanon hosts the largest number of Syrian refugees per capita in the world. In Sep 2020, the total number of registered Syrian refugees in Lebanon accounted to 879,529. The protracted nature of the displacement coupled with a significant funding gap in humanitarian and development aid from one side and the increased socio-economic needs of refugees and host communities from the other side limited the ability of the state to manage the conflict and turn it into an opportunity. 

The stakeholder analysis produced a strategic view of relevant stakeholders in the selected post-conflict countries, including line ministries, local authorities and civil society organizations, and identified all primary and secondary stakeholders who have a vested interest in the issues in which the project is concerned.