Mercy, a single parent of two children, fled violence in her home county of El Salvador, and found refuge in Belize. Since her arrival to Belize, Mercy is most grateful for the safety she can provide her children. In the north of Central America, gender-based violence carried out by criminal groups is one of the primary factors driving women and girls—like Mercy and her daughter—to flee their homes for safety.
Madam Maa Zenai stands proudly at the entrance to her brand-new shed. Inside is the small herd of cattle that has changed her life, thanks to a project that employed a ground-breaking partnership between IFAD and UN Women to empower rural women in China.
Our UN teams are on the ground, working with governments and key stakeholders to bolster countries’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, helping ensure a smooth recovery. They tackle a range of multi-faceted priorities and key initiatives on a daily basis—from climate action to gender equality and food security—and utilize innovative approaches to problem-solving to better serve communities. Below are some highlights of their work this month.
“With each passing hour, two things are increasingly clear: first — it keeps getting worse. Second — whatever the outcome, this war will have no winners, only losers”, said UN Secretary-General António Guterres, warning that a resulting meltdown of the global economy is provoking a "hurricane of hunger", as he addressed reporters outside the Security Council chamber in New York.
UN scientists on Monday delivered a stark warning about the impact of climate change on people and the planet, saying that ecosystem collapse, species extinction, deadly heatwaves and floods are among the "unavoidable multiple climate hazards” the world will face over the next two decades due to global warming.
Around the world, UN teams are working with governments and other partners to combat COVID-19 and support national socio-economic recovery plans, focusing on activities to provide service to vulnerable groups. Below are some highlights of these initiatives.
Let us take a moment to reflect on the contributions UN country teams and partners are making in advancing disability inclusion towards achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, through the lens of five stories.
Today, on International Mother Language Day, we shine a light on an initiative that seeks to keep the Nasa Yuwe language alive at a time when emerging information and communication technologies (ICT) are transforming the very ways we interact with one another.