The present report provides evidence that while some progress has been made in the form of new legislation, and in increased representation of women in government leadership, gender equality in governance remains tilted in favour of male leadership. There are continuing challenges to women’s full participation in productive, paid activities. Wage discrimination persists, and Gender-Based Violence (GBV) continues with an intensity that leaves women in pain and families in a dysfunctional state. The report also draws attention to poverty affecting youth in the region, insofar as they are among those most prone to income deprivation, as reported in several recent country poverty assessments. Poverty among young people is often associated with unsustainably high levels of unemployment, and can lead to criminal behaviour, especially among male youth facing poverty, as well as to susceptibility to sexual violations, especially among female youth. Human trafficking and drug-related crimes are persistent manifestations of social destabilization in a sub-region still recovering from the effects of the recent global financial crisis.