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.
Roya sets the white fabric under the needle and presses the pedal of her sewing machine, adding finishing touches on the face mask she is making. Around her, rows and rows of other refugees are also churning out masks – much sought-after protection made necessary by the unrelenting COVID-19 pandemic.
Human trafficking is a crime that strips people of their rights, ruins their dreams, and robs them of their dignity.
The Blue Heart Campaign encourages everyone to get involved: raise awareness and inspire action to help
stop human trafficking and to fight its impact on society.
Two hundred and fifty months!
My full-time United Nations service totals 20 years and 10 months at the end of this month — July 2021. These 250 months represent a lifetime of learning, passion, service, and friendships.
Boniface (not his real name), a father of six and nursing assistant at the Saint Jean de Dieu hospital in Tanguiéta, in northwestern Benin, about 600 km from Cotonou, had a painful experience with viral hepatitis, an inflammation of the liver caused by a virus, which can be fatal.
“Despite Georgia’s notable progress in recent years, people with disabilities remain one of the most excluded and marginalized groups of society,” says Anna Chernyshova, acting head of UNDP in Georgia.
In March 2020, the Government of Panama announced restrictions on movement to contain the spread of COVID-19. The first weeks of lockdown were an uncertain time, says Venus Tejada, president of the Panamanian Association of Trans People.
Lerato — not her real name — is a 20-year-old first-year student at the local university. She hunkers down on her chair a few metres from where I’m sitting with her head fixed to the floor. She looks sad, tired and dejected, avoiding any eye contact, as if ashamed of what we were about to talk about.
Communications is key in our line of work at the United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG). In addition to uniting 34 agencies, funds and programmes that play a role in development, the UNSDG also supports 131 UN country teams serving 162 countries and territories to work together to enhance the impact of the UN system, bringing together diverse perspectives and capabilities from around the world, while communicating with one unified voice.
During this pandemic, I had the honour of delivering a commencement speech. In preparing for my remarks, I thought about the future young people face today and how I felt at that age, full of energy and aspirations, ready to take on the world.
