LocationsEU – UNDP partnership in the Arab States region
Peace, Prosperity, and Dignity on both sides of the Mediterranean
May 15, 2025
The evolving conflicts in the Arab region have had a devastating impact on people’s lives and stability.
Photo: UNDP Yemen
The Arab region has experienced a string of successive, overlapping and reinforcing crises in recent years, known as a polycrisis.
It faces interlinked challenges including energy insecurity, water scarcity, migration, conflict, and socio-political fragmentation.
The evolving conflicts in the Arab region have been the cause for the world's largest waves of migration and displacement since World War II. It has had a devastating impact on people’s lives and stability across countries, and it has reversed many of the human development gains achieved in the early 2000s.
The region is home to some of the world’s most urgent crises including in Gaza, Sudan, Yemen – all having witnessed a significant dramatic reversals of human development gains that will affect multiple generations to come. Other countries such as Syria and Libya are emerging from crises that have had dramatic regional impacts.
Despite this, the UNDP through the generous support of the EU & European Member States has stayed present on the ground serving the most vulnerable and leaving no one behind.
The European Union has been working closely with UNDP to promote stability and recovery – all the while building resilience for communities as they face increasingly uncertain contexts.
While we celebrate today, Europe Day, we will showcase how the EU is fostering peace and prosperity in the Arab States region - enabling millions to live in dignity and build a better future for both sides of the Mediterranean.
IRAQ
In 2014, ISIL forced Salima Ahmed Adwan and her older sister, Salha, to flee, ripping them away from the life they had built.
Photo: UNDP Iraq
Stabilization is a cornerstone of the UNDP and EU partnership.
In 2014, ISIL forced Salima Ahmed Adwan and her older sister, Salha, to flee, ripping them away from the life they had built. They left everything behind—family heirlooms, familiar streets, the warmth of neighbors and community. What came next was a blur of displacement and survival.
They first stop was at Al-Hol camp, where they lived a nightmare. There was never enough—never enough money, never enough food, never enough warmth in the bitter cold of winter, or shade from the relentless summer heat. From there, they had the chance to leave to Al Amal Center – where they started finally feeling a glimmer hope for stability and an opportunity to start over.
Through the RISE project funded by the European Union, Salima and Salha were given the support needed face their trauma and grief as well as receiving trainings that ultimately helped them start their own business.
The stories of these two sisters, is one of millions of Iraqis, who have been given the chance for a better future through the EU’s partnership with UNDP Iraq.
Despite the challenges posed by conflict and climate change, farming remains a vital sector of Iraq’s economy, providing livelihoods for millions and ensuring the country's food security.
On the other hand, the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the KfW Development Bank, has been supporting UNDP Iraq’s Building Resilience through Employment Promotion (BREP) programme to support farmers, beekeepers and people's livelihoods and strengthen resilience of communities.
LEBANON
UNDP-EU efforts in Lebanon have included improving the provision of security services by the national police - the Internal Security Forces.
Photo: UNDP Lebanon
Lebanon endured 13 months of conflict, deepening pre-existing instability and economic hardship. With support from the European Union, UNDP Lebanon is working to enhance security, promote stability, and foster social peace, while contributing to the country’s recovery and sustainable development.
Efforts include improving the provision of security services by the national police - the Internal Security Forces – with a focus on community policing approaches and strengthening local mechanisms for conflict prevention and peacebuilding. In parallel, UNDP is strengthening the capacity of the Lebanon Mine Action Center to manage explosive ordnance risks, an essential step to enable the safe return of displaced populations, support livelihood recovery in conflict-affected areas, and lay the foundation for long-term development.
LIBYA
Recognizing football’s potential to inspire and unite, UNDP has prioritized rehabilitating key football fields and stadiums across Libya.
Photo: UNDP Libya
The conflict in Libya has forced about a million people from their homes, mostly to cities such as the capital, Tripoli. Trapped in displacement, they have struggled to access employment opportunities and cover their basic needs. Families had found themselves suddenly displaced, struggling to access basic services.
In Libya, the EU is funding “Baladiyati programme” to enhance stability and improve living conditions for vulnerable communities across the country. With over 700 priority initiatives completed in 40 municipalities, impacting more than 3 million people, the programme empowers local authorities to deliver essential services—including education, healthcare, water, sanitation, and sustainable energy.
The EU’s support to UNDP’s Local Peacebuilding and Resilience Programme, enables communities to rebuild and create opportunities for a better tomorrow.
Photo: UNDP Libya/Abdeladeem Ajaj
PALESTINE
The United Nations Development Programme/ Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People (UNDP/PAPP) and the European Union has partnered to support Palestinian access to quality and sustained essential health care services in East Jerusalem hospitals amidst the challenging financial situation for the health sector as a consequence of the war in Gaza.
Through generous contributions by the Netherlands, as well as Spain, Sweden, and the EU – the joint UN programme, Sawasya III, has enabled 13,000 Palestinians (including over 11,000 women) to access legal assistance, with approx., 165,000 Palestinians having accessed Mizan, the e-justice portal supported through Sawasya. Mizan also received a major international prize last year, as runner-up in the SDG Game Changers Award.
SYRIA
Tarfa, a 38-year-old mother of seven from eastern Syria, received training and a grant through a UNDP project, helping her launch a home-based pastry and bread business.
Photo: UNDP Syria
The 14 years of conflict has placed an enormous toll on economic and human development within Syria.
Tarfa, 38 years old, mother of seven from Al Mayadin in Deir ez-Zor Governorate, eastern Syria received a training as part of the empowerment and livelihoods project to support her family and received a grant that enabled her to buy the necessary equipment to start her home-based business selling pastry and bread.
The Joint Programme (UNDP- UNFPA – FAO) interventions in Deir ez-Zor, implemented by UNDP with funds from the Government of Italy has empowered women and helped them earn a living in different professions including baking, beekeeping, leather tanning, compost, and medicinal herbs, among others.
Through this intervention, the Government of Italy’s support improved the livelihoods of 510 people, with 120 receiving specialized vocational training at the Rural Development Centre (RDC).
YEMEN
In Yemen, conflict has displaced millions, destroyed livelihoods, and overwhelmed local governance, deeply affecting every aspect of daily life.
Photo: UNDP Yemen
In 2020, UNDP and the EU joined forces to launch the monumental SIERY project to support local governance systems, enhance public services, and foster economic resilience for Yemenis.
Massive population displacements, loss of livelihoods and destruction of institutions and services have overwhelmed local governance systems in Yemen and devastated all aspects of life.
The SIERY Project works collaboratively with local authorities, community structures, private sector, civil society, and non-governmental organizations across 45 districts in Yemen.
The SIERY Project focuses on restoring the provision of education in Yemen, which has been severely impacted by the war. This has included rehabilitation and renovation of around 70 educational institutions across Yemen, with a focus on schools for girls, thereby facilitating access to education and enhancing the learning experience for more than 100,000 students.
To address the impact of power cuts in Yemen on learning, local authorities across the 45 targeted districts within the SIERY Project installed solar panels in over 70 places of education. Using the flat roofs of the schools, they are providing uninterrupted electricity and replacing the need for fossil fuel-based power sources.
Nurse Balquees preparing for a surgical intervention on a patient at Ghail Bawazir Hospital in Hadhramout Governorate.
Photo: UNDP Yemen
For example, Ghail Bawazir Hospital is a lifeline for community members of Ghail Bawazir district. For many years, hospital staff faced a daunting challenge: meeting the overwhelming healthcare needs of the local community with very limited resources. The project supported the rehabilitation of the hospital’s surgery room.
"This initiative increased the surgery room capacity from 20 per cent to 80 per cent," shares Nurse Balquees, who is employed by Ghail Bawazir Hospital.
She underscores the increased ability to provide essential surgeries locally, sparing patients the prohibitive costs and risks of traveling to other medical facilities.
In Yemen, conflict and economic hardship have disproportionately affected women, investing in female entrepreneurs is a strategy for long-term resilience and recovery.
Through The Enhanced Rural Resilience in Yemen (ERRY III) Joint Programme – a multi-agency initiative led by the UNDP and funded by the European Union and Government of Sweden – women across the country are gaining the tools they need to build sustainable livelihoods. With access to business training, mentorship, and start-up grants, they are navigating complex challenges, and building enterprises that are fueling local economies.
Nurse Balquees preparing for a surgical intervention on a patient at Ghail Bawazir Hospital in Hadhramout Governorate.
Photo: UNDP Yemen
BUILDING FORWARD TOGETHER: PEACE, PROSPERITY, AND DIGNITY
We live in a hyperconnected world, with ever-evolving interdependencies. No single country, or even region, can address the complex global challenges and crises we face. Coordinated collective action is the only way to resolve these challenges.
The European Union (EU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have jointly championed the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as a global plan of action for “people, planet and prosperity.”
Despite the region’s ongoing challenges, our partnership has had a tangible and lasting impact on communities, helping to transform the narrative of a region long burdened by hardships to one of hope, resilience, and solidarity. The strength of our partnership has enabled us to be more agile in times of crisis.
This strong partnership can turn the human development challenges that exist in the face the Arab region into inclusive, community-owned change – providing peace, prosperity, and dignity for all.
MORE ASSETS
EU-UNDP partnership: from mines to milestones
EU-UNDP partnership: Helping rebuild lives and strengthen capacities in the Arab Region
Footnotes
By Hoda EL Nahlawy, Multimedia, Online and Digital Communication Officer
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