Life can be hard in the rural villages of southern Niger. Sometimes, like last year and the year before, insects destroy the crops. And not least of all, there’s the weather. The mercury can soar past 40 degrees in the hot season, and the rains can come hard and fast in the wet season. One day, recalls Asma Abdou, “A heavy rain started to fall at 4:00 in the afternoon. At 7:00, I put the children to bed under a mosquito net”—that’s to protect them from insect-borne diseases such as malaria.
The fight against COVID-19 continues and so does the work of our UN country teams worldwide. Teams are delivering medical and personal protective equipment, aiding authorities in national vaccination roll-outs, and helping with overall recovery and response. Today, we highlight some of those efforts.
Asia and the Pacific is a dynamic and prosperous region. How is it possible that nearly two billion people experience such food insecurity? This figure is just one of the findings of the latest annual report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition.
COVID-19 threatens the health and nutrition of almost two billion people in Asia and the Pacific alone. The pandemic is devastating already fragile circumstances for billions worldwide. UN teams across the globe are aiding to address some fundamental challenges to people’s safety, and health and food security. Today, we highlight some of the coordinated efforts.
Since COVID-19 changed our world forever, expressions of alarm and fear have comingled with optimism and hope. Across our planet, our global community has adapted to new social norms, suffered extreme losses and braces for the medium to long-term impacts of a drastic economic crisis.
They were sexually abused as children. Now, as adults, these two have taken their experience and are helping to make sure that no kids today suffer the same. For that, they’re getting the support of the UN.
When the disaster struck the heart of Beirut, Lebanon was already reeling from civil unrest, economic and financial hardship, increasing poverty and unemployment compounded by political tensions and a soaring number of COVID-19 cases. This has been further exacerbated by the heavy burden of Syrian and Palestinian refugees.