“2020 was an exceptionally challenging year for Lebanon, and the people are still feeling the shocks of it,” says Najat Rochdi, UN Deputy Special Coordinator, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon.
At the 2019 launch of the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy, the Secretary-General said that the UN should lead by example and raise its standards and performance on disability inclusion. That includes all UN digital platforms. The UNSDG website and social media channels are walking the talk on boosting accessibility.
Before the pandemic, Zaynab's husband was a minibus driver who spent long days driving between the city of Niamey and surrounding towns. Though Zaynab (not her real name) would have preferred he spend more time at home with their 2-year-old son, she was accustomed to the situation.
The family life of Fagnosea Alphonse and Masy Suzanne, respectively 40 and 39 years old, originally from Tanandava, district of Amboasary south in the Anosy region (in the south of Madagascar), have now evolved well. Even their children can recall the hardships their family experienced before.
In 2020, like every other region worldwide, the Arab region1 has had to contend with an unexpected challenge - the COVID-19 pandemic. However, unlike most other regions, the pandemic has exacerbated numerous pre-existing crises, and its impact is likely be felt for many years to come.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Domitilla Noh, 45, has found it difficult to access healthcare services. She lives in Guinea Grass, a small village in the Orange Walk District of Belize. When the town’s only nurse was relocated to assist with pandemic relief efforts, residents were left with few options.
Monday morning. As usual, Stéphanie, 4 years old, a kindergartener, has to go to school. At 6am, her mother Hélène goes to wake her up so that she can get ready. She finds her daughter unconscious. Panic-stricken and distraught, she tells her husband and they rush to the hospital. The diagnosis was made: Stéphanie was suffering from neuromalaria or pernicious access, the most severe form of malaria. She was taken to the intensive care unit and regained consciousness only days later, on Friday.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are perhaps the most ambitious undertaking for global peace and prosperity since the formation of the United Nations. Achieving the goals requires that the UN system work together within and across countries like never before.
