Within the context of the United Nations and League of Arab States (LAS) cooperation and UNESCO’s MOST (Management of Social Transformations) Programme, the MOST Forum of Arab Social and Health Ministers on “Multi-Dimensional Social Protection Policies in Conflict and Conflict-Affected Arab States” will be co-organized by the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science in the Arab States and LAS (Social Sector) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, on 4 December 2018. The Forum will be a thematic session during the joint meeting of the Councils of Arab Social and Health Ministers.

The choice of “Multi-Dimensional Social Protection Policies in Conflict and Conflict-Affected Arab States” as the theme of the Forum reflects fully the spirit of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of leaving no one behind, as well as the MOST strategy. This new developmental paradigm has placed the concept of social protection at the center-stage of policy discourse for affluent and developing countries alike.

As a result of the Forum, it is expected that Ministries of Social Affairs and Ministers of Health in the Arab States will develop a strong engagement to review their national multi-dimensional social protection policies, in collaboration with social scientists and other concerned stakeholders. Ministers or their representatives are expected to adopt a Joint Ministerial Declaration highlighting the identified challenges and suggested recommendations for strengthening multi-dimensional social protection policies in conflict and conflict-affected Arab countries.