During a visit to Tajikistan, Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed congratulated the country on its 30th anniversary of UN Membership and attended a Cooperation Framework signing ceremony that “reflects our strong partnership”. The joint UN-Tajikistan document, which was signed on Tuesday by Prime Minister Kokhir Rasulzoda and UN Resident Coordinator Sezin Sinanoglu, sets out national development priorities and goals for the next four years.
Our UN teams are on the ground, working with governments and key stakeholders to bolster countries’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, helping ensure a smooth recovery. They tackle a range of multi-faceted priorities and key initiatives on a daily basis—from climate action to gender equality and food security—and utilize innovative approaches to problem-solving to better serve communities. Below are some highlights of their work this month.
Tongogara Refugee Camp (TRC), located in Chipinge District of Zimbabwe has become a safe haven where nationalities from different countries in Africa have learned to live together and exchange their diverse life experiences. It is a space where tolerating the next person’s way of living is the norm, while also adapting to a different setting away from home.
From the economic repercussions of the COVID pandemic to food insecurity exacerbated by the Ukraine war, Secretary-General António Guterres painted a picture of accumulating crises that have put the drive towards the global goals into reverse.
On May 8, 2022, ahead of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed visited Soubré, the capital of the Nawa region in the southwest of Côte d'Ivoire: one of the country’s most important cocoa-producing regions.
‘STEM education’, which teaches students the disciplines of science, technology, engineering and math has become more important than ever in recent years. As well as developing core technological skills, STEM helps students improve their problem-solving, critical thinking, adaptability, communication and teamwork. These types of classes are especially important for girls, as it gives them the confidence, skills and tools to thrive in a field which is still dominated by men. UNICEF has teamed up with UNDP in Armenia to help bridge this divide and support more young women and girls establish their own startups.
As female leaders Isabel, Leticia and Rosibel are role models for other young women willing to challenge the cultural norms which used to restrict them to caregiving and domestic roles.
The Ukraine crisis may pose a threat to food security and living standards in Africa, but it could also provide incentives to boost intra-African trade. Those were the key messages from Hanan Morsy, Deputy Executive Secretary and Chief Economist at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), during a recent online presentation to over 100 UN officials from all over the continent. Many UN Resident Coordinators chimed in with observations from the field.
