Demographic and Epidemiological Patterns and Trends in the MENA Region: June 2019 Meeting Report

On June 18, 2019, USAID, implementing partners, researchers, and other stakeholders convened in Crystal City to gain a deeper understanding of demographic and epidemiological patterns and trends in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Speakers from USAID emphasized that these trends will help inform strategies to support MENA countries to plan, manage, and finance their health systems—a core element of the Journey to Self-Reliance. The meeting included sessions on the MENA region’s past demographic and mortality trends, deeper dives into demographic and mortality patterns in three different country contexts, and emerging health system challenges and opportunities. Presenters were from the USAID Bureau for Global Health, the USAID Bureau for the Middle East, the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) program, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), the USAID Applying Science to Strengthen and Improve Systems (ASSIST) project, the UNICEF Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa, the Arab Barometer, the Tunisian Ministry of Health, in addition to the USAID-funded Sustaining Health Outcomes through the Private Sector (SHOPS) Plus project. This report summarizes the proceedings.