United Nations

UN Publication Offers New Ideas for Sustainable COVID-19 Recovery

By Radwan Jakeem

NEW YORK (IDN) – As the government, business and civil society leaders fight the global COVID-19 pandemic, leading experts and thinkers have offered outside-the-box thinking and new solutions to prevent the outbreak of new pandemics while achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

A new publication of policy briefs issued by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) calls for improving international tax cooperation, more equitable access to digital technological advances, and sustainable natural resource management that complement the broader recommendations of the Secretary-General regarding shared responsibility and global solidarity in responding to the socio-economic impact of COVID-19.

: Radwan Jakeem; UN INSIDER; 23 July 2020

Photo: Flexible development resources like those provided by Germany enable UNDP to build on and accelerate efforts to tackle the social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Credit: UNDP Bangladesh/Fahad Kaizer

COVID-19: UNDP Commends Doubling of Germany's Support to Flexible Core Funding

By Radwan Jakeem

NEW YORK (IDN) – Germany has become the largest funding partner to the 2020 core resources of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as a result of a hike to €110 million, equivalent to more than $124 million.

In 2019, Germany provided €50 million to UNDP's core resources. As a strong supporter of multilateralism and international cooperation, Germany has been the largest government contributor to UNDP since 2017.

: Radwan Jakeem; UN INSIDER; 15 July 2020

The Path Forward for Higher Education After COVID-19

UN Academic Impact Talks to Students from Several Countries

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – COVID-19 pandemic has forced more than 1.5 billion students in 165 countries out of school, enforcing the global academic community to explore new ways of teaching and learning, including distance and online education, according to UNESCO estimates.

This has proven challenging for both students and educators, who have to deal with the emotional, physical and economic difficulties posed by the illness while doing their part to help curb the spread of the virus, notes United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI).

: Santo D. Banerjee; UN INSIDER; 10 July 2020

Photo: A seasonal worker at a store in Buga, Colombia. Credit: World Bank/Charlotte Kesl.

UN Chief Calls for Addressing ‘unprecedented’ impact of coronavirus on Latin America and the Caribbean

By UN News

NEW YORK (IDN) – As COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the world, Latin America and the Caribbean have become a “hotspot of the pandemic”, the UN chief said on July 8, releasing a new policy initiative on how best to recover in a region already embroiled in poverty, hunger, unemployment and inequality.

The UN brief reveals that several countries in the region, are now among those with the highest per capita infection rates worldwide and shines a light on how the crisis is impacting vulnerable groups, including indigenous communities and women.

: UN Bureau; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 10 July 2020

#CopingWithCOVID Webinar for Young People

Taking care of mental health while living in the new normal

By UN News

NEW YORK (IDN)— The United Nations Secretary-General's Envoy on Youth, Ms Jayathma Wickramanayake, will host the 9th session of the United Nations' #CopingWithCOVID webinar series on July 15 (livestream at bit.ly/CwCOVID9).

During this session — focused on young people’s mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic — the Envoy will be joined by the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore, the Director-General of the World Health Organisation Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Queen Mathilde of the Belgians and six young people from around the world.

: UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 09 July 2020

Wanted 'Information Volunteers' to Halt Viral Spread of COVID-19 Misinformation

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) — Never before has there been a more pressing need for accurate, verified information as in the current situation marked by the Coronavirus spreading its tentacles around the world. Like the virus itself, Misinformation about COVID-19 spreads rapidly from person-to-person and heightens the risk to health disseminating fear and division.

Subsequently, to contain the disease and its impacts, people around the world require access to trusted, accurate information based on science and aiming at solutions and building solidarity within and between nations.

: J Nastranis; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 02 July 2020

Photo: The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) is providing services to displaced women and girls across northeast Syria. Credit: UNFPA Syria.

Put Women at The Centre of Syria Crisis Response

Viewpoint by Dr Natalia Kanem and Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka

Dr Natalia Kanem is the Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Ms Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka Executive Director of UN Women.

NEW YORK (IDN) – As the Syria crisis enters its 10th year, the situation is especially dire for women and girls, with the effects of COVID-19 compounding the risks and hardships for millions of people inside the country and for refugees around the region.

Today nearly 12 million people in Syria require urgent humanitarian assistance and around 4 million depend on cross-border aid. Some 5.7 million Syrians have fled and are now residing in countries throughout the region.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 01 July 2020

Photo: OCHA's Gema Cortés (right) interviews and photographs a woman in Bolivar, Venezuela prior to the outbreak of COVID-19. Credit: UN OCHA/Marrero

How a UN Official Got Out the Right COVID-19 Information from Venezuela

Viewpoint by Gema Cortés

The writer is Public Information Officer, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Caracas. He contributed the following to UN OCHA on June 1.

CARACAS (IDN) – When I arrived in Venezuela ten months ago, access to basic services and products such as food and medicines was already challenging. Patience and good humour were the formula for overcoming the long queues to pay at the supermarket. In a country where local cash is not operational, credit cards, mobile payments and cryptocurrencies are the only ways to pay.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 05 June 2020

COVID-19 Crisis: How South-South Cooperation Can Support Economic Recovery

Viewpoint by Richard Kozul-Wright

The writer is Director of Globalization and Development Strategies, UNCTAD.

GENEVA (IDN) – The COVID-19 crisis is stress testing the capacity of governance arrangements to deal with unexpected shocks.

Results point to considerable variation at the national level, but it’s difficult to give anything above a B minus to the response at the multilateral level.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 03 June 2020

Photo: In Yemen after nearly five years of war, women have been hit hardest by the conflict. Credit: Kellie Ryan | International Rescue Committee

Arab Women's Organizations Join the UN Chief Urging a Global Ceasefire in the Face Of COVID-19

By Caroline Mwanga

NEW YORK (IDN) – In a joint statement, ninety-one women's organizations from Iraq, Libya, Palestine, Syria and Yemen have joined a global appeal issued by UN Secretary-General António Guterres at the outset of the pandemic.

On March 23, Guterres urged warring parties across the world to lay down their weapons in support of the bigger battle against COVID-19: the common enemy that is now threatening all the humankind.