ESCWA WEEKLY NEWS No. 67

07 April 2020



	Increased violence against women due to COVID-19; Women to lose twice as much as men in terms of jobs While COVID-19 is affecting people indiscriminately, women and girls are among the most vulnerable to the impact of the pandemic. A new policy brief by ESCWA and other United Nations entities issued on 6 April emphasizes that existing domestic violence and social challenges faced by women and girls in the Arab region have worsened. Out of 1.7 million jobs expected to be lost in 2020 in the Arab region due to the pandemic, as highlighted in a previous study, ESCWA and partners estimate that nearly 700,000 will be lost by women. In addition, a previous ESCWA study had shown that informal sector workers will bear the brunt of the poverty rise in the Arab region. With 62% of active women working in the region’s informal sector, women are expected to be disproportionately affected. Read more

	New ESCWA brief: 8.3 million people will fall into poverty in the Arab region due to COVID-19 An additional 8.3 million people will fall into poverty in the Arab region in 2020, according to a new policy brief issued by ESCWA on 1 April on the impact of COVID-19. Increased poverty could raise the number of undernourished people by some 2 million. With those estimates, a total of 101.4 million people in the region would be classified as poor, and 52 million as undernourished. Meanwhile, the region is losing around $60 billion annually owing to food loss and waste. A reduction of food loss and waste by 50% would increase household income by some $20 billion. The region would significantly improve food availability, reduce food imports and improve its trade balance in the process. Read more

	Government Electronic and Mobile Services Maturity Index Five years into the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, ESCWA has released a new report on government electronic and mobile services (GEMS) given the important role that technology plays in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The GEMS Maturity Index measures the maturity of government services provided through portals and mobile applications by Arab States. It seeks to bridge a gap in most international indicators regarding service maturity, actual use and user satisfaction. To this end, 84 government services deemed essential for individuals and businesses have been identified. The life cycle approach has been adopted in service selection; an individual needs those services at different life stages, and each company requires them from establishment till closure. Read more


	Did you know... … that more than 50 per cent of daily calories consumed in the Arab region are from imported food? Wheat is the main consumed cereal in the region, with about 127 kg per capita annually, but 65 per cent of wheat consumption is imported. Rice is another major consumption item among cereals, but the region is a net importer of rice. Wheat and rice together represent around $11 billion of the region’s trade deficit. Photo credit: Istock/ricardoreitmeyer Read more