On October 29, 2025, the Asfari Institute for Civil Society and Citizenship at the American University of Beirut, in partnership with UNICEF, UNDP, ESCWA, GIZ, and with the support of the Global Alliance for Care (GAC), hosted a regional online dialogue titled “Transforming Care Systems in the Southwest Asia and North Africa Region.”

Held on the International Day of Care and Support, the event convened policymakers, UN agencies, researchers, and civil society leaders to renew regional commitment to care justice, social protection, and gender-responsive policy reform.

Opening remarks were delivered by Lina Abou-Habib (Asfari Institute, AUB), Dr. Mary Kawar (UNDP Arab States), Dr. Mehrinaz El Awady (ESCWA), Maha Muna (UNICEF MENA), Emilienne de Leon (Global Alliance for Care), and Annette Funk (GIZ WoMENA) .

Moderated by Carla Akil, the first session featured presentations of two Asfari Institute research papers:

• “Unraveling the Impact of Traditional Gender Roles on Unpaid Care Work and Maternal Mental Health in the Middle East” by Mira Ibdah
• “Child Domestic Labor in Unpaid Care Work and Feminist Activism: A Case Study from Iraq” by Manal Hameed

Subsequent sessions included the presentation of the UN System Policy Paper on Transforming Care Systems by Maha Muna and Vasumathi Anandan (UNICEF), followed by Rania Tarazi (UNDP) on unpaid care work in the Arab region, and Rouba Arja (ESCWA) on advancing care policy research .

The event culminated with a keynote presentation by Dr. Deepta Chopra (Institute of Development Studies, UK) on “Framing a Research Agenda on Care”, outlining next steps for evidence-based policy and collaborative advocacy across the MENA region .

Closing reflections were shared by Lina Abou-Habib, Maha Muna, Rania Tarazi, and Annette Funk, reaffirming shared regional and global commitment to care system transformation and the official relaunch of the MENA Working Group on Care (MENA-WGC).

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