The effective participation of women and equal leadership opportunities are recognized globally as key drivers to achieving sustainable development. Although much progress has been made to increase women’s representation in all areas of public life since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995), change has been incremental and slow. Gender equality and women’s full and equal participation in all areas of life, especially decision-making, are integral to the Decade of Action and meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
Regional entities of the United Nations in Latin America and the Caribbean’s are stepping up to channel know-how, resources, networks and logistics capacity to support countries, Resident Coordinators and UN teams on the ground to address multiple shocks in the developing region most affected by the pandemic
In response, UN teams around the world have marshalled forces not only to stop the spread of the disease, but to deal with its many secondary effects—from massive job losses to increases in gender-based violence. Here are five ways the UN is combating the pandemic.
As the National Emergency Medical Services Referral Coordinator in the capital city of Freetown, Lt. Moiwo has to juggle national ambulance services, clinicians at hospitals, treatment centres and isolation units, and psychosocial assistance for patients and their families. She also disseminates test results and updates a national database on COVID-19.
In 2021, International Women's Day falls at a time of extraordinary hardship for the people of Syria. This week will mark the tenth anniversary of a crisis which has caused unfathomable loss and driven widespread and growing humanitarian needs across the country.
Women are in public decision-making roles more than ever before, but equality is far off: women hold only about 21 percent of ministerial positions globally, and only 22 countries are headed by a woman. At the current rate of progress, gender equality will not be reached among Heads of Government until 2150, another 130 years.
Yet, women persist, and continue to prove that when they lead, they bring transformative change to their communities and the world. Such change is vital in an era of COVID-19, climate change, deepening inequalities, conflict and democratic backsliding.
Gender inequality hurts women and girls, and it prevents whole societies from developing. When women are free, equal, and empowered, they are happier and healthier individually, and they contribute more to the lives of their families, communities, and countries.
The UN team in Serbia has long been dedicated to addressing gender inequality, so that no women or girl in Serbia is left behind. This effort has many facets, from ending child marriage to stopping domestic violence to promoting women’s health during COVID-19.
Thanks to collective efforts and the safe classroom and remote learning models set in place, more than a million students returned to school in Costa Rica. With the United Nations' support, Costa Rica has become one of the first countries to open its educational institutions on time, providing security and inclusion for thousands of children, adolescents, and young people.
The conclusion of the Africa Regional Review meeting, hosted by the Government of Malawi, kicks off a series of meetings and events leading to the the landmark Fifth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) taking place in Doha, Qatar in early 2022.
“I have 20 students in my class, and 13 of them are from herder families,” said Byamba, the fifth-grade teacher in a remote county of Mongolia, located more than 1000 km from the capital. This is a vast country, where nomadic herders are scattered through steppes and mountains, grazing their animals. Many herder children attend remote boarding schools.
