Gender equality and fair treatment of women and girls is a moral imperative, but global data analytics, evidence and experience clearly demonstrate that including women also fosters economic…

Christopher Stephens |

Women of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) have outperformed many other regions in terms of life expectancy, infant mortality, and tertiary education. Their performance in education has, in…

Ferid Belhaj, Paul Noumba Um, Muneeza Mehmood Alam |

The energy sector remains a male-dominated field across the world, and this is no different in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Women in MENA already have a generally low participation…

Husam Beides, Elisabeth Maier |

As we commemorate the #16 Days of Activism campaign for yet another year, it is clear that no time should be lost in taking comprehensive and concrete action against the many forms of Gender-Based…

Ferid Belhaj, Ayat Soliman, Mirjam Kalle |

According to two rounds of a pulse survey, 74% of countries reported disruptions to communicable disease treatment, 73% reported disruptions to immunization, and 38% reported disruptions to non-…

Denizhan Duran, Rekha Menon |

The GCC countries, coping with the dual shocks of the pandemic and low oil prices, are standing at the crossroad of economic and social transformation. The future of the region depends on how well…

Sameh El-Saharty, Aviva Chengcheng Liu |

Today, the world is seeing an unprecedented freeze on work and production, a repercussion of the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) and the measures taken to confine it.

Dalal Moosa, Federica Saliola |

If there is a single lesson to draw from the pandemic, it is that transparency in public information can save lives and improve economic outcomes, by enhancing societal trust in the state.

Ferid Belhaj |

Of the region’s 450 million people, nearly two-thirds, almost 300 million people, are under the age of 35. Unfortunately, this vast human resource is highly “untapped,” and nearly 80 percent of…

Anna Bjerde |

In the past decade, the GCC countries have made a number of steps towards improving women’s access to education, health care, and employment, as well as encouraging women to participate in…

Issam Abousleiman |