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.

What:

1. Arab Preparatory Meeting on Energy-related Issues for the 2018 Arab Forum on Sustainable Development and the High Level Political Forum (27-28 March 2018);
2. Regional Preparatory Meeting on Water Issues for the 2018 Arab Forum on Sustainable Development and High Level Political Forum (28-29 March 2018).  

When:

Beirut, 22 March 2012 (UN Information Services) — United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said agriculture is by far the main user of freshwater, and unless we increase our capacity to wisely manage its use, we will fail to end hunger and we will open the door to a range of other ills, including drought, famine and political instability. The admonition came in a message by Ban on the occasion of the World Water Day, which was marked today by at the UN House in Beirut by ESCWA, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the UN Information Centre in Beirut (UNIC).



"The Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), in partnership with the League of Arab States (LAS) and the United Nations Environment Programme/Regional Office for West Asia (UNEP/ROWA), and in collaboration with the Ministry of Equipment and Environment in Tunisia, is organizing an Expert Meeting on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which will be held on 18 and 19 November 2013 in Tunisia.