As the world marked the fourth International Day of Education on 24 January, we need a renewed engagement to transform education and build a better future for our children in line with the promises of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is well established that the key to a better future for children in any country lies in quality education. It is no different for Lesotho, a demographically young lower-middle-income country where nearly 40 percent of the population is under 18.
The UN team in Afghanistan has launched its One-UN Transitional Engagement Framework (TEF) to assist Afghans in 2022. The TEF is the overarching strategic planning document, ensuring the coordination of the UN team’s work to reduce the suffering of the people of Afghanistan by saving lives, sustaining essential services—such as health and education—and preserving essential community systems.
The Panama Canal Museum opened its doors to commemorate Human Rights Day and the 20th Anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, which embodies the world’s commitment to tackle racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
During the 2nd half of 2020 and the 1st quarter of 2021, 22 new cases of poliomyelitis (polio), a deadly viral disease, were detected in Benin. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccination campaigns were carried out to stem polio transmission.
In the Arab region, the rate of female labour force participation is 18% compared to the global average of 48% . Women are often reporting that they are facing discrimination in training and jobs, patriarchal norms and stereotypes, workplace harassment, low wages, and limited labor rights.
Despite the almost miraculous development of effective vaccines against COVID-19 in 2020, the virus continued to spread and mutate throughout the last year.
Teams are intensifying their efforts across the globe to tackle COVID-19 and the latest variant: Omicron. They are also helping countries as they face multidimensional challenges like an increase in gender-based violence and political unrest.
Children returning to schools, workplaces re-opening, and vaccines all seemed to point to a return to normal but like 2020, 2021 has been a year of hope, loss, and uncertainty for people around the world. Stories of innovative ways to connect, protect our planet from climate change, and ways we, as a society, have joined forces to protect each other from the pandemic that has ravaged all our lives.
Jan André is a cheerful and outgoing young man, a superb dancer, and aspiring schoolteacher. Indeed, he wants to become the best schoolteacher in Costa Rica. Fortified by his own will and the encouragement of his family, he overcame violence and adversity to become an outstanding university student.
