COVID-19

Photo: FAO DG Qu Dongyu. Credit: WTOCC BY-SA 2.0

People’s Movement Launched in South Africa To Defeat Covid-19

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – A call to action endorsed by over 500 organizations and individuals in South Africa is aiming to unite millions of the nation’s citizens in order to acquire 40 to 80 million doses of vaccine to defeat the coronavirus pandemic.

“The pandemic is wreaking havoc,” organizers proclaimed in a recent letter published in the Mail&Guardian. “Vaccinating a significant part of the population is the only way to defeat the pandemic.”

: Global Information Network; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 19 January 2021

Photo: Virtual One Planet Summit: Credit: First Channel of German TV

One Planet Summit on Biodiversity Pledges Action Commitments

By Jaya Ramachandran

PARIS (IDN) – The global health crisis of the COVID 19 came as a dramatic reminder of the importance of Nature for our daily lives and economies: biodiversity is our life insurance. Yet, the damage to ecosystems is unprecedented and will have major consequences on our lifestyles in the decades to come.

According to knowledgeable sources, reversing this trend is a major challenge for the coming decade. This global challenge requires concerted action at all levels (international, national, local) and by all actors (governments, international organizations, businesses, associations, citizens, etc.).

: Jaya Ramachandran; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 18 January 2021

Photo: Health care workers at a hospital moving a patient who died of COVID-19 in New York in April 2020. Credit: UN Photo/EvanSchneider

UN Chief Warns Against 'vaccinationalism' As 2 Million Die of COVID-19 Pandemic

By Radwan Jakeem

NEW YORK (IDN) – "Our world has reached a heart-wrenching milestone: #COVID19 has now claimed two million lives. Sadly, the impact of the pandemic has been made worse by the absence of global coordination. In the memory of those two million souls, the world must act with far greater solidarity," tweeted UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

: Radwan Jakeem; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 17 January 2021

Landmark World Social Forum Meets Virtually

By Jaya Ramachandran

ROME (IDN) – Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the international edition of the World Social Forum (WSF) will take place virtually this year from January 23 to 31, marking the 20th anniversary of an extraordinary global gathering. The forthcoming WSF will be the longest ever held since the first World Social Forum in 2001 in Porto Alegre, capital of the state of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil.

This event will enable global and local political responses to the serious and urgent challenges in times of the profound crises of capitalism.

: Jaya Ramachandran; SUSTAINABILITY; Global Partnerships; 14 January 2021

A New UN Report Calls for Living in Balance with The Planet

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – As the UN Secretary-General António Guterres has repeatedly pointed out, humanity is faced with a "defining moment", a warning that is highlighted in the 30th-anniversary edition of the Human Development Report (HDR), The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene. Though humankind has achieved incredible progress, we have taken the Earth for granted, destabilizing the very systems upon which we rely for survival.

: J Nastranis; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 10 January 2021

Image: A collage of SDG3 and SDG16 logos from the UN Website.

UN Chief Points to Fragility and Conflict as Major Obstacles to Sustainable Development Goals

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – “Challenges of Maintaining Peace and Security in Fragile Contexts” were the focus of Secretary-General António Guterres' remarks at the Security Council virtual open debate on January 6. The debate was organized by Mr Kais Saied, the Security Council's Presidency for the month of January.

He called for a Global Ceasefire, which he said, goes hand-in-hand with a flagship initiative of the African Union. The United Nations also remains committed to supporting the African Union’s ambitious Agenda 2063.

: Santo D. Banerjee; SUSTAINABILITY; Poverty; 08 January 2021

Photo: In the DRC, the MONUSCO Force Intervention Brigade has taken measures to boost hygiene to help slow the spread of the virus. CC BY-SA 2.0

Most Africans Will Not Receive Corona Vaccine This Year

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Countries across Africa are hunting for deals to obtain COVID-19 vaccines at affordable prices, but their limited funds will cover less than half of their citizens. One estimate places access to a vaccine at one person out of 10.

According to a report in The Hill, a U.S. news website, 9 out of 10 people in nearly 70 poor countries will not get a COVID-19 vaccine this year due to government funding shortfalls.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 04 January 2021

Photo: Midwife lifts one of the very first babies born in Mali in 2020 at a Health Center in Segou, central Mali. © UNICEF/Seyba Keïta

Make 2021 A Fairer, Safer, Healthier World for Children

By Caroline Mwanga

NEW YORK (IDN) – More than 371,500 children would be born on the first day of 2021, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The agency's Executive Director Henrietta Fore said on the eve of the New Year day: "The children born today enter a world far different than even a year ago, and a New Year brings a new opportunity to reimagine it."

: Caroline Mwanga; SUSTAINABILITY; Health & Well Being; 01 January 2021

Let Us Make 2021 a Year of Healing!

The following is the text of 2021 United Nations New Year's message delivered by Secretary-General António Guterres.

NEW YORK (IDN) – 2020 has been a year of trials, tragedies and tears.

COVID-19 upended our lives and plunged the world into suffering and grief.

: UN Bureau; OPINION; 31 December 2020

Photo: A collage of UNGA President Volkan Bozkir (UN picture) superimposed on a detailed view of Assembly Hall (UN Photo/Cia Pak).

UN Assembly President Calls for Working Together for A Better Tomorrow

NEW YORK (IDN | UN News) – The President of the United Nations General Assembly has urged everyone around the world "to continue to work together" to end the coronavirus pandemic, and to build an inclusive and sustainable future.

In a message for the New Year, Assembly President Volkan Bozkir said that each individual, community, and country has a role to play, locally and globally, to reduce inequalities, protect the most vulnerable people, and create more just, safer societies.