You are dependent on your husband, or your parents, or your uncle, or other people. They may show some kindness, but often it is coupled with scorn. They see you as a burden. They take their frustration and anger out on you. They do not send you to school, for they say it is not worth it. They use cruel names to speak of you. They do not feed you enough. They hit you. They may have their way with you.
The street vendor Nereide Fernandes, 49, had her life strongly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as a significant portion of the Brazilian population. Living in São Paulo, Fernandes lost her job and faced difficulties to take care of her 2-year-old daughter Melissa, who has Down syndrome.
Many years ago, as a little girl, Heni Dwi Windarwati was out walking with her parents when a stranger approached them on the street. “He walked towards me, seemingly out of the blue, and kissed me on my forehead. I remembered not feeling scared because my parents did not react strongly to it,” she remembers. Her parents explained that the man had a severe mental health condition and did not mean any harm. Years later, this interest in mental health inspired her to get a doctorate in psychiatric nursing.
Small Island Developing States (SIDS) face a shared set of geographical, environmental, economic, and social challenges, and suffer from unique development needs and extreme vulnerability. Frequent exposures to natural hazards and disasters intensified by climate change and external economic shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are detrimental to these island nations.
World Environment Day, which fell on 5 June, marked the official launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, a global push to revive natural spaces lost to development. In the lead-up to the Decade’s launch, we are looking back on some of our most popular restoration-related stories, including this piece originally published in September 2020.
"Water is everything to me. Nowadays, I really need it, water balances me; I need to observe it and always be in contact with cities near the water. At the same time water mobilizes me, I suffer when I see the pollution. My motivation is to find solutions to this problem that affects everyone," explains Yago.
The roll-out of vaccinations to prevent COVID-19 infections rising in the Maldives is a good example of “vaccine equity in action” according to Catherine Haswell, the UN Resident Coordinator for the Indian Ocean island nation.
“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.
Through the COVAX Facility, UN teams across the globe are working effortlessly to ensure vaccine equity worldwide.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia
COVID-19
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