This document presents the outcomes of the technical meeting on “Social Protection as a Tool for Poverty Reduction in the Near East and North Africa” held in Beirut, Lebanon from 29 to 30 March 2017, organized by the Regional Initiative on Small-Scale Family Farming, an initiative of the Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAORNE). 

The document follows the agenda of the workshop. It starts with a background description of the situation that has lead to the organization of the technical event. It sets the scene presenting the FAO's strategy on Rural Poverty Reduction and on Social Protection. It starts then with the policy review and the national Priorities presenting the learnings from the Republic of Egypt, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. The second part treats the expanding of Social Protection to Rural Areas, presenting the experiences from Leabnon and the expansion of universal health to rural areas. The second part also contains the big question of how financing Social Protection. The third part of the document presents Social Protection and its link with resilient Livelihoods and Climate Change while the last part contains evidence-based social protection cases from Latin America and the Arab region.