Life was hard for Violeta and her family in their little village Kabash, a two-hour drive from the town of Puka. Everything was far away — the health clinic, the hospital, the local administrative offices.
With tears in her eyes, she remembers the time when her little daughter collapsed and just barely regained consciousness, with no nearby hospital to take her. She also learned that both her daughters had been born with mental health issues and congenital heart disease. They needed specialized medical care, which was accessible only in town.
While the prospect of vaccines in 2021 provides hope in defeating this virus, UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s message that ‘there is no panacea in a pandemic’ is clear. Robust public health measures centred around the scientifically proven steps that prevent the spread of COVID-19 remain the most practical response. To its credit, China has set a good example by adopting this approach, as I have witnessed firsthand.
We are facing a devastating pandemic, new heights of global heating, new lows of ecological degradation and new setbacks in our work towards global goals for more equitable, inclusive and sustainable development.
In Syria, communities are struggling under the weight of the prolonged war, an escalating economic crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. More than 11 million people across the country are in need of humanitarian support.
A new joint programme has been established in Costa Rica to provide tools to social co-managers for basic protection for families and women's economic autonomy in three cantons.
