This newsletter captures the latest updates on the implementation of the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) in Lebanon. The newsletter includes the key highlights and achievements of the WPHF programme partners' towards enhancing women’s participation in the Beirut Port Explosion’s response and recovery process.

In October 2019, hundreds of thousands of Lebanese people took to the streets to protest the imposition of new taxes and the worsening economic, social and political crises gripping the country.

Palestine’s Second National Action Plan for the implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) on Women, Peace and Security and Subsequent Resolutions follows the first National Action Plan adopted in 2016 recognizing the disproportionate impact of conflict and occupation on Palestinian women and girls and their vital participation in peacebuilding.

This brief presents emerging evidence of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on women’s economic empowerment. Complementing a separate UN Women policy brief on “COVID-19 and the care economy”, it considers the immediate gendered economic impacts, including widening socioeconomic divides and shifting national and international priorities for the allocation of resources, as well as the long-term implications for women’s employment and livelihoods.

This year’s regular resources report analyses how UN Women mobilized its core contributions in 2019 to fulfil its normative, coordination, and operational activities mandate, in order to improve the lives of women and girls worldwide. Through the presentation of tangible results, this report presents case studies at the global, regional, and country levels to showcase the impact that regular resources have in the countries where UN Women is present.

Risk communications and community engagement (RCCE) are essential tools to ensure that people are aware of the dangers posed by COVID-19 to themselves and their families, and ensure their involvement in national and local efforts to stop the spread of the virus as well as minimize disruptions to their lives and livelihoods. But in order for RCCE efforts to be effective, they need to be gender-responsive and include all segments of societies, particularly the most of vulnerable and marginalized social groups. These guidelines explain the vulnerabilities of different social groups to COVID-19, and how to address these vulnerabilities in RCCE efforts and plans.

Across every sphere, from health to the economy, security to social protection, the impacts of COVID-19 are exacerbated for women and girls simply by virtue of their sex. This policy brief explores how women and girls’ lives are changing in the face of COVID-19, and outlines suggested priority measures to accompany both the immediate response and longer-term recovery efforts.

UN Women Achievements Report gives a comprehensive overview on the main programmes implemented by UN Women Egypt during 2018 in collaboration with its various partners across the four impact areas: Women’s Political Empowerment (WPE), Women’s Economic Empowerment, Ending Violence against Women (EVAW) and Engaging Men and Boys in Gender Equality. It also features the main achievements of the programmes while highlighting the progress made under communications and partnerships.

This publication addresses the key areas of engagement for UN Women to strengthen its work on the empowerment of women and girls with disabilities.