Impact of the economic crisis and food and fuel price volatility on children and women in the MENA region

Commissioned by the UNICEF Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa, this paper assesses the evidence about the current and potential impacts of the "Triple F crisis" (food, fuel, financial) on children and women in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). It draws on an analytical framework developed by ODI's Social Development Programme to assess the impacts of economic crises on children's experiences of poverty and vulnerability, and how government and donor policy responses could determine the severity of these impacts. Drawing on existing quantitative datasets as well as more in-depth analysis from six countries -- Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen -- the report highlights the diversity of MENA countries' vulnerability to the global economic crisis as well as their differing capacities to respond to its social impacts, based on pre-existing macro-economic health and policy infrastructure.