The COVID-19 pandemic continues its deadly march around the world. How will countries be able to “build back better” from this calamity? We know, in this respect, that the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are key.
COVID-19 and other challenges continue to jeopardize the health and well-being of people across the globe. UN country teams are not standing down. They continue the fight with continued determination. Today, we highlight some of the coordinated efforts.
Life was hard for Violeta and her family in their little village Kabash, a two-hour drive from the town of Puka. Everything was far away — the health clinic, the hospital, the local administrative offices.
With tears in her eyes, she remembers the time when her little daughter collapsed and just barely regained consciousness, with no nearby hospital to take her. She also learned that both her daughters had been born with mental health issues and congenital heart disease. They needed specialized medical care, which was accessible only in town.
“Despite Georgia’s notable progress in recent years, people with disabilities remain one of the most excluded and marginalized groups of society,” says Anna Chernyshova, acting head of UNDP in Georgia.
During this pandemic, I had the honour of delivering a commencement speech. In preparing for my remarks, I thought about the future young people face today and how I felt at that age, full of energy and aspirations, ready to take on the world.
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) face a shared set of geographical, environmental, economic, and social challenges, and suffer from unique development needs and extreme vulnerability. Frequent exposures to natural hazards and disasters intensified by climate change and external economic shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are detrimental to these island nations.
At the 2019 launch of the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy, the Secretary-General said that the UN should lead by example and raise its standards and performance on disability inclusion. That includes all UN digital platforms. The UNSDG website and social media channels are walking the talk on boosting accessibility.
We are living in unprecedented times. COVID-19 continues to devastate health systems, cripple economies, and exacerbate inequalities across the globe. As I write these words, the Caribbean region remains a hotspot of a disease, which is highlighting a simple reality: global crises require global solutions. This pandemic is our opportunity to strengthen regional collaboration and global solidarity to address our shared challenges and move forward. This can only happen if we are courageous and dedicated enough to seize the opportunities presented to us.
In response, UN teams around the world have marshalled forces not only to stop the spread of the disease, but to deal with its many secondary effects—from massive job losses to increases in gender-based violence. Here are five ways the UN is combating the pandemic.
The conclusion of the Africa Regional Review meeting, hosted by the Government of Malawi, kicks off a series of meetings and events leading to the the landmark Fifth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) taking place in Doha, Qatar in early 2022.
