Our UN teams are on the ground in 162 countries and territories, coordinating joint programmes and tackling a range of multi-faceted priorities and key initiatives on a daily basis — from climate action to gender equality and food security.
'After major setbacks to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the Pacific needs fairer access to financing as it fights to overcome climate challenges,' writes Simona Marinescu, UN Resident Coordinator in Samoa, Cook Islands, Niue and Tokelau.
Droughts have become an urgent global issue. Aggravated by human-induced climate change and desertification, they threaten all types of countries, negatively impacting food security and socioeconomic development. And prospects are not reassuring as droughts may affect over three-quarters of the world’s population by 2050.
Remarks delivered by UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammed at the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) meeting today on Operational Activities for Development. In her speech, Ms. Mohammed, who chairs the UN Sustainable Development Group on behalf of the UN Secretary-General, presented the Report of the Chair of the UNSDG on the Development Coordination Office.
In Benin, the financial situation of vulnerable persons further deteriorated with the COVID-19 crisis, which forced many to discontinue their businesses and revealed an urgent need for governments to invest in resilience-building programmes using digital solutions—which help ensure the continuity of local revenue-generating activities.
UN entities continue to work together to respond to the situation, contributing their expertise and building on their partnerships. Among other priority interventions, they provide vital support to refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs), especially women and girls; assist authorities in ensuring the protection and the provision of essential services for refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs); and support survivors of violence among vulnerable girls from conflict and crisis-affected communities.