Introduction: Facing the wave: A journey in the shadow of the pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has devastated a region already reeling from the effects of a decade of uprisings, failed or stalled political transitions, state fragility and failure, economic decline, collapsing social safety nets, civil war, and international conflict. Many MENA countries have struggled to provide adequate health care and social assistance to their most vulnerable citizens. Conflict-affected countries, as well as fragile states, are in a particularly precarious position. In addition, COVID-19 exposed the majority of MENA countries’ underfunded, unbalanced, and unprepared healthcare systems, further depleting limited functional and reserve capacities, exacerbating existing challenges, and exposing vulnerabilities that could no longer be compensated for. The MENA region’s renaissance will require new ways of doing things rather than relying on the same old habits that have brought the region to its knees.