Farah Al Shami

Senior Fellow and Program Director - Social Protection
Arab Reform Initiative Team

Farah Al Shami is a Senior Fellow and Program Director for Social Protection at the Arab Reform Initiative. A policy and development economist, she brings over nine years of experience working with CSOs, UN entities, and academic institutes to advance rights-based public policy reforms in the Arab region. Her work focuses on social policy, economic development, inequality, governance, and gender justice, with expertise in research, advocacy, capacity building, and coalition facilitation. Farah has held roles at ANND, UN-ESCWA, and the Asfari Institute at AUB. She is a Fulbright alumna and holds a Master’s degree in Policy Economics from Williams College, as well as a Master’s degree in Economics from AUB and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from LAU.

Publications

Towards an Inclusive, Integrated, and Sustainable Social Protection System in Lebanon:   Policy Dialogue Series Report
Report
13 January 2026
#Lebanon#Social Protection
Reducing Inequality through Social Protection for Informal Workers:   Challenges and Prospects — Farah Al Shami
Blog
20 December 2024
#Social Protection
Financing Universal Social Protection Systems in the Arab Region:  What Alternatives to Debt and Austerity? — Farah Al Shami
Research
16 October 2024
#Financing for Development#IFIs#IMF#MENA#Social Protection
Lebanon's Social Protection System Suffers Amidst the Current War:  Urgent Action Needed!
Research
14 October 2024
#Conflicts#Humanitarian Aid#Lebanon#Social Protection
Recent Social Security Reforms and New Pension System in Lebanon:  Interview with ILO’s Rania Eghnatios and Luca Pellerano
Interview
12 April 2024
#Elderly#Lebanon#Pension#Social Protection
“The Road to Marrakech” Ended on a Rolling Hill:  What About the Spring Meetings and Beyond? — Farah Al Shami
Blog
11 April 2024
#Financing for Development#IMF#Social Protection#World Bank
Arab Region Social Protection Systems:  Research and Policy Design Challenges — Farah Al Shami
Research
20 October 2023
#knowledge production#Public Policy#Social Protection
Navigating Turbulent Waters:  The Compounding Effects of a Pandemic and a War on the Mediterranean Basin — Farah Al Shami
Bawader / Commentary
9 August 2023
#COVID-19#Mediterranean#Ukraine war
From Tangential Livelihood Programming to Integrated Social Protection: Conceiving a Long-Term Approach to Youth Economic and Social Policy in Iraq
From Tangential Livelihood Programming to Integrated Social Protection:  Conceiving a Long-Term Approach to Youth Economic and Social Policy in Iraq — Farah Al Shami
Research
28 July 2023
#Iraq#Social Protection#Youth
IFIs and Social Protection:  Gender Equality in Limbo — Farah Al Shami
Blog
28 July 2023
#Gender#IFIs#Inequality#Social Protection
The COVID-19 Crisis and Health Inequality:  A Reciprocal Magnification Effect in the Arab Region — Farah Al Shami
Research
6 July 2023
#COVID-19#health inequality#Social Protection
Perceptions and Trajectories of Youth in Baghdad, Al-Basra, and Mosul after the 2014 Conflict with ISIS — Farah Al Shami
Research
13 September 2022
#Conflicts#Iraq#Youth
Rethinking our understanding of vulnerability under the pandemic — Farah Al Shami
Blog
31 January 2022
#COVID-19#Social Protection#Vulnerability
The Mediterranean Region:  A Hotspot of Inequalities in the Aftermath of COVID-19 — Farah Al Shami
Bawader / Commentary
18 November 2021
#COVID-19#Economy#Education#Health
The Trap of Pinning Hope on the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights (SDR) in Lebanon — Farah Al Shami
Bawader / Commentary
17 July 2021
#Economy#Inequality#Lebanon#Political Economy