The Ukraine crisis may pose a threat to food security and living standards in Africa, but it could also provide incentives to boost intra-African trade. Those were the key messages from Hanan Morsy, Deputy Executive Secretary and Chief Economist at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), during a recent online presentation to over 100 UN officials from all over the continent. Many UN Resident Coordinators chimed in with observations from the field.
Our UN country teams and their partners around the world, including host governments, are continuing to work together in tackling the multifaceted impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and recovering better together to accelerate progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. We are also responding to other challenges, focusing on providing support to those most vulnerable. Below are some highlights of our work in March 2022.
The virtual platform Mujeres Emplea connects women with job offers and entrepreneurial opportunities in the public and private sectors. It also provides free training tools and promotes a listing of current offerings of child and adult care services.
With less than a decade left to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 on gender equality and women’s empowerment, the commitment is yet to translate into action on the ground. The Eighth Session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development, which was held in Kigali, Republic of Rwanda, from 3 to 5 March 2022, offered Africa a unique opportunity to engage all stakeholders on accelerating actions towards achieving SDG 5 by 2030.
Today, the UN Joint SDG Fund announces a historic expansion of its portfolio to five new markets across the globe with US $54.5 million in additional investments to rescue the Sustainable Development Goals.
In Mexico City, over 500 participants from 50 countries adopted a strategic roadmap for the International Decade of the Indigenous Languages. Indigenous communities have become the leading forces that advance and ensure full empowerment and inclusion, equal and meaningful participation, and much more.
Leading up to COP 26, which kicked-off on 31 October 2021, a High-level Dialogue on Energy was convened by UN Secretary-General on 24 September under the Theme “Accelerating action to achieve SDG7 in support of the 2030 Agenda and the Paris Agreement”. As the first global gathering exclusively devoted to energy since the UN Conference on New and Renewable Sources of Energy in 1981, this Dialogue was a historic opportunity to promote the acceleration action on clean, affordable energy for all by 2030 (SDG7) and on net-zero carbon emissions (SDG 13) by 2050.
Hama Sorka, a 75-year-old fisherman from Saguia, Niamey, Niger, looks at the site where his house stood before being washed away by the floods that ravaged his neighbourhood in October 2020.
UN agencies deeply regret the sinking of a boat on October 11 in Acandí, Colombia, which was carrying about 30 people to Panama. In this tragedy, three people lost their lives and six others, including three minors, are missing, according to the Colombian authorities.
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.
