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.

Women-owned businesses (WOBs) in the Middle East and Northern Africa (MENA) region could make significant contributions to entrepreneurial activity and countries’ economic growth, but face challenges and barriers. This report examines access to finance in the United Arab Emirates for WOBs; describes government and private measures to promote women’s entrepreneurship; looks at global best practices and makes recommendations for policymakers and stakeholders to improve women-owned businesses’ access to financing.

L'étude de recherche participative vient répondre aux questions suivantes: Quels sont les besoins des femmes et des jeunes filles au sud Tunisien? Quel est leur rôle dans la cohésion sociale et quelles sont les opportunités économiques pour elles? Elle vient proposer des pistes de solutions pour renforcer l’autonomisation des femmes et leur potentiel de résilience et leur rôle dans la cohésion sociale pour la prévention de l’extrémisme violent.

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.

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.

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, UN Women Palestine Office conducted a flash online survey on the impact of COVID-19 on women-led MSME's employing up to 95 employees. The online survey was administered between 17-27 March 2020. In total, 301 women entrepreneurs from the West Bank and Gaza responded to the survey. The infographic report shows a summary of 301 women respondents across Palestine.

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.

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