ESCWA WEEKLY NEWS No. 42

23 September 2019



	Transport statistics and road safety ESCWA held the first Regional Workshop on the Development of Transport Statistics and Transport-related Sustainable Development Indicators in the Arab Countries, in cooperation with the Arab Institute for Training in Statistics (AITRS). The 3-day workshop was opened on 16 September by Lebanese Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Raya El Hassan, Executive Secretary of ESCWA, Rola Dashti, and AITRS Director, Hedi Saidi. Road traffic injuries are the tenth leading cause of death globally, with about 1.3 million deaths and as many as 50 million injuries every year. Young people are the most affected: in Lebanon, 47% of victims are 15 to 44 years old and in Jordan, 45% are 21 to 38 years old. Read more

	Aquacrop for irrigation water management in Palestine In the framework of its project on “Enhancing resilience and sustainability of agriculture in the Arab region”, ESCWA organized the “First Palestinian National Training Workshop on AquaCrop for Irrigation Water Management” from 16 to 19 September, in cooperation with the Arab Center for the Studies of Arid Lands and Dry Zones (ACSAD). Agriculture and water experts from the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture specialized in the fields of irrigation and soil enhanced their capacities in irrigation water management through the use of the Aquacrop model, based on a training manual developed by ESCWA and ACSAD on the subject. Read more


	Integrated National Development Planning In the context of its project entitled “Towards the Arab Horizon 2030: Enhancing Integrated National Development Planning in the Arab Region”, ESCWA held a regional workshop on 19 and 20 September for national and regional stakeholders involved in institutional and development planning. Participants exchanged knowledge and expertise in the field, and reviewed the draft development-planning guidebook prepared by ESCWA in collaboration with Nudge Lebanon. They also discussed support programmes and tools developed by ESCWA on regulatory reform, strategic planning, and monitoring and evaluation of development planning processes. Read more

	Road opening around the UN House On 17 September, ESCWA Executive Secretary, Rola Dashti, and Lebanese Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Raya al-Hassan, held a joint press conference to announce the opening of the road linking Downtown Beirut to Boulevard Salim Salam, on the west side of the building. "The roads were closed under specific the security conditions Lebanon was then going through. These conditions have changed, the security situation has stabilized and we, as ESCWA, support the stability and economic and social development of this country," Dashti said. "We hope that the actions of all United Nations entities will help Lebanon to improve its economy and the living conditions of its people, and create jobs for young persons," she added.


	Did you know... … that, despite earlier extended progress, the number of people suffering from hunger has been on the rise for the third consecutive year? An estimated 821 million people were undernourished in 2017, up from 784 million in 2015. The proportion of stunted children has been declining since 2000, but 22% of children under 5 years of age were still chronically undernourished in 2018. In the Arab region, an estimated 48 million people were undernourished in 2016. Two thirds of the hungry in the region are in conflict countries. In Arab least developed countries (LDCs), stunting affects about 38% of children under 5 years of age. Read more