The first Arab Forum for Equality, held in Amman on 30-31 May 2022, is organized by the ESCWA and the Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just and Inclusive Societies, and hosted by the Center on International Cooperation at the New York University. This is the inaugural meeting of the Forum, and the theme this year is “Towards inclusive youth employment in the Arab region”.

Following is UNAIDS Executive Director Winnie Byanyima’s address:

Greetings to all participants at this first and vital Arab Forum for Equality. 

Thank you my dear sister, Rola Dashti, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia for inviting me.

I’ll share three lessons that we’ve learnt about inequality.

The first lesson is a worrying one: that inequality which was already extreme is being exacerbated even further.

In 2022, nearly half of humanity, 3.3 billion people are projected to be living below the poverty line of 5.50 USD a day. (Source: Oxfam)