United Nations Country Results Report for 2020

2020 was an extremely difficult year. What began as a health

crisis that cost millions of lives evolved into a full-blown socioeconomic

crisis that claimed millions more livelihoods around

the world. COVID-19 brought the world to its knees, exposing

and exacerbating existing vulnerabilities that will likely remain

for some time to come. Here in the Kingdom of Bahrain, there

have been more than 120,000 cases of COVID-19 and over 450

deaths registered since the first cases were reported in February

2020. On the economic front, growth in 2020 is estimated at ‑5.4

percent, and sectors such as travel and hospitality are some of

the hardest hit in the region. Such statistics, however, only tell

one side of the story.

Thanks to its early preparedness and close partnership with the

World Health Organization (WHO), the Ministry of Health and the

National Taskforce for Combating the Coronavirus were able to

mitigate the worst effects of COVID-19. Under the stewardship

of the Ministry of Finance and National Economy, crucial socioeconomic

measures and economic stimulus packages were put

in place to safeguard households and enterprises against the

impact of the pandemic. By the end of March 2021, early signs of

economic recovery are evident, and Bahrain has vaccinated over

500,000 citizens and residents, making it one of the global leaders

(per capita) in the COVID-19 vaccination rollout.

As this report outlines, the United Nations spared no effort to

rapidly reposition its support behind Bahrain’s response and

recovery efforts. While ensuring the WHO advisory and technical

assistance to the Government in meeting the challenges of the

health crisis head-on, the UN country team developed the Joint

United Nations COVID-19 Socio-Economic Response & Recovery

Framework, a whole-of-system initiative offering multidimensional

support services to respond to and recover from the impact of

the pandemic. Despite disruptions caused by COVID-19, progress

was made in several key areas related to the UN’s work on human

rights, labour and migration, public health, sustainable urban

development, the environment and food security, to name but

a few.

Across programmes and projects, the UN country team had

to adjust to a virtual world. Plans, proposals and frameworks

were revised to align with COVID-19 response and recovery

efforts. Working closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and

key national counterparts, the UN developed the Strategic &

Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework, which outlines a

comprehensive statement of UN support for Bahrain’s emergent

development priorities.

In Bahrain, as elsewhere, the impact of COVID-19 will be felt for

years to come. But there is light at the end of the tunnel. 2020

marked the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, sparking a

global conversation on the role of multilateral cooperation in

building the future we want. Amidst the greatest global health

crisis the UN has seen in its 75-year history, here in Bahrain

the UN75 campaign demonstrated clearly the key role that the

UN has to play, not only in responding to crisis situations, but

in working with Governments and partners around the world to

Build Back Better.

As we turn our attention to 2021, and focus our collective

efforts on the promise to Leave No One Behind, on behalf of

the entire UNCT, I want to express our deep appreciation to the

Government of Bahrain and to our invaluable partners across the

country, without whom the work of the UN would not have such

a meaningful impact.