The UNFPA Arab States Regional Office (ASRO) hosted the annual Regional Consultation Meeting (RCM) in Hamamet, Tunisia, in early March this year. The meeting brings together programme officer, admin and finance officers, as well as office heads and representative of all the country offices in the Arab States Region. All programmes were discussed, giving a chance for all Country Offices to showcase and highlight successes, challenges, and ways forward, with feedback from colleagues and lessons learnt.

Regional advisers also had a chance to lay out the focus areas for the year to come, which are youth and Reproductive Health, with a strong focus on communication both within the organization and externally, to ensure that the UNFPA deliver as one, and the broader UN family as well.
Another focus is the countries in the region which are experiencing crisis situations, and more emphasis needs to be given to pooling resources and expertise to these regions, including skilled staff on detailed assignments to these areas.

The meetings spanned 3 full days, often going into the late hours, as the committed member of the UNFPA team hashed out the year ahead, ensuring the mandate and goals of the UNFPA were fulfilled and addressed in each country in the region.