UNFPA Lebanon

In preparation of the planning process for the integration of population, RH and gender dimensions into sectoral planning and programming, an orientation integration workshop was organized by the PDS project targeting primarily the PDS staff as well as selected participants from the academic sectors and UNFPA supported projects. The workshop was held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel from November 28 to 30, 2005. The workshop was facilitated by Dr. Abdel Aziz Farah, CST advisor on population and development strategies. In addition, Dr. Faiza Benhadid, CST gender and sociocultural advisor moderated two sessions on gender mainstreaming in planning.
The orientation workshop covered the following topics:

During the workshop, participants set the grounds for future collaboration and designed a plan of action for the launching of the integration process in 2006. A subsequent elaborated training workshop, consisting of partners from both the health and education sectors, as well as other sectors will take place in May 2006. This will lead to the establishment of Multi-disciplinary Task Forces entrusted to develop a Plan of Action for the integration of population, RH and gender dimensions into sectoral planning and programming.

As a first step in the process of developing a framework for an advocacy strategy on population issues, the PDS project organized on the 1st of November 2005, a technical meeting to lay the grounds for the strategy. The workshop aimed at discussing the need for an advocacy strategy; the priorities and expected outputs of the strategy; as well as sharing experiences in the field of advocacy in Lebanon and the countries of the region. This meeting succeeded in bringing in representatives from the National Center for Educational Research and Development, the National News Agency, the Lebanese University, the Social Training Center, Amel Association, Ministry of Social Affairs, Information Education & Communication unit at the Ministry of Social Affairs, UNFPA, Council for Development & Reconstruction, Lebanese Family Planning Association, and members of Civil Society. In follow-up to this technical meeting, a consensus building workshop will be organized beginning of April 2006. During this workshop, some sessions will be based on a series of studies tackling the needs for advocacy on population issues. One example of such studies is the one initiated by the PDS project in December 2005 that aims at assessing the knowledge and awareness of media professionals on population related matters namely poverty, Reproductive Health, Gender Equity and Empowerment of Women, youth concerns, migration, environment and the inter-linkages between various population issues. The final analytical report is expected to be ready by April 2006. Discussions in the workshop will constitute the basis for drawing up the framework of the strategy that will target parliamentarians, decision makers, opinion leader, media professionals, and other groups in support of population concerns. The next phase towards the development of an advocacy strategy framework on population issues will include recruiting a consultant who will be working closely with the advocacy task force established during the workshop.

With the aim to support and strengthen the performance and functions of the National Population Permanent Committee, an Assessment Study of the National Population Permanent Committee and its Technical Secretariat (TS) was initiated as of December 2005 in partnership with Dar Al Tanmiya. This study consists of an in-depth analysis of the National Population Permanent Committee and its TS (structure, activities/functions, status, effectiveness, work methodology and processes, coordination mechanisms, representation, support bodies,…). It also entails a comparative study of Lebanon NPPC/TS with other NPPC/TS in selected countries of the Arab region. This assessment will result in practical recommendations concerning the structure, duties and work methodology of the Lebanese NPPC/TS so that it becomes fully operational. The study is expected to be completed by April 2006.

Thursday May 11, 2006 was the concluding day of a 7 day training workshop organized by the Population and Development Strategies Programme on the Integration of Population Issues in Sectoral Planning. Dr. Abdel Aziz Farah - CST advisor on population and development strategies and Dr. Faiza Benhadid - CST gender and socio-cultural advisor facilitated the training (May 3-11). Current potential partners in the integration process, from both the health and education sectors, were represented in the workshop. These included Civil Society member organizations (Ajialouna, Lebanese Family Planning Association …), Academic Institutions (AUB, LAU, Lebanese University, Haigazian University, University of Balamand), UNFPA supported projects (i.e. IEC in support of RH at Community level- Ministry of Social Affairs, Advocacy Activities for the Integration of Population Education in school curricula and extra curricular educational activities- CERD + Ministry of Education) as well as organizations from the private sector (syndicate of hospitals, General Secretariat of Catholic Schools in Lebanon …) and public sector organizations (Ministry of Public Health, Ministry of Education and Higher Education, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Interior and Municipalities, the Council for Development and Reconstruction).

An introduction to population issues and interlinkages with development based on MDGs as building blocks
Definition of integration and the rationale for the integration of population issues in sectoral planning
Tools and methods of Integration
Gender Assessment in Development Planning

In addition to the above mentioned topics, the PDS project team and CST Advisor provided participants with a thorough training on the use of the SPECTRUM System of Policy Models, one of many tools and techniques that provide estimations and projections of the needs for integration. Spectrum is a Windows-based system of integrated policy models.

"Spectrum was very useful, especially in relation to projections,
and the importance of providing suggestions for future planning"

A number of presentations and discussions were led by workshop facilitators, PDS programme staff, national experts as well as UNFPA assistant representative. More time was allocated to a series of group work sessions organized to give participants the opportunity to brainstorm on and discuss various phases of the integration process.

In the first working group, participants carried out an exercise on 'causality analysis' for a specific population issue. During the second working group, and building on the causality analysis, participants focused on three priorities and drafted a sample plan of action for the integration of this issue in sectoral plans. The third and last working group tackled the issue of integrating gender in planning in both the education and health sectors.

As for the SPECTRUM system training, all participants had the opportunity to apply the techniques directly on the computer and to discuss the results of the projected estimations.

After long days of fruitful work, participants gathered during the last day of the workshop to determine the way forward in the integration process. The attributes and responsibilities of the newly created “Integrated Task Force” were discussed and agreed upon by all participants, of which we can list the following tasks:

To set integration priorities

To contribute to increased awareness and commitment to the integration of population issues among decision makers and staff working in represented institutions

To create networks and efforts of collaboration within and between sectors

As shown in the impact assessment form filled by all participants at the end of the workshop, valuable comments on the workshop and on the mechanisms of collaboration in the future could be deduced. Some participants expressed a need for further capacity building on techniques of integration and the use of spectrum; others emphasized the need for follow up, sharing information, and networking. One participant clearly stated:

"I hope this workshop will help in achieving the desired development
in this cherished country and especially that Lebanon is a geographically small country,
which gives us the chance to implement the best integration process in the world"

The PDS programme is committed to pursue the remaining phases of the integration process with the support of the “Integration Task Force” that emerged from the workshop