On May 8, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Beatrice Mutali of Kenya and the United Kingdom as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Zambia, with the approval of the host government.
In Benin, the financial situation of vulnerable persons further deteriorated with the COVID-19 crisis, which forced many to discontinue their businesses and revealed an urgent need for governments to invest in resilience-building programmes using digital solutions—which help ensure the continuity of local revenue-generating activities.
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 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.
The Dominican Republic receives, for the first time, the Joint Sustainable Development Goals Fund of the United Nations (Joint SDG Fund), of a non-reimbursable nature, with the purpose of supporting the design and implementation of the Care Communities pilot as part of the National Care Policy carried out by the current Government administration.
Secretary-General António Guterres released his annual update on the Organization’s efforts to prevent and respond to sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) on Tuesday, dovetailing with his system-wide strategy – launched in 2017 - to stamp out incidents by placing victims at the heart of efforts, throughout the system.
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.
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.