A new ODI background note, commissioned by the UNICEF Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa, 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.

The paper finds that the crisis is already undermining children’s rights along a number of dimensions, including increased food insecurity and related risks of child malnutrition; rising rates of school dropouts in poorer countries in the region, with concerns about rising child protection threats (including harmful forms of child labour); rising vulnerability among migrant, refugee and IDP families; and significant impacts on the employment prospects of young people, already a major concern in many parts of the region.