Umbrella Facility for Gender Equali

Published purpose

This project aims to build on the Mashreq Gender Facility child care work to support women’s participation in the Lebanese economy. Access to quality child care services is key to facilitating women's economic activity in the Mashreq region. Women in this region are impacted disproportionately by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic due to job losses and increased care responsibilities. The Facility will provide technical support and funding for strategic regional and country-level child care activities based on action plans developed by the respective governments in collaboration with the private sector and civil society. Project activities include: (1) identifying intervention opportunities through a market assessment; (2) providing training to increase the resilience of child care services; (3) developing strategies to increase the market supply for child care services; (4) gathering evidence on the child care sector; and (5) raising awareness about how child care services can improve social conditions. This is one of three parts of the Mashreq Gender Facility project in Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon, with a total budget of $4 million for its child care component.