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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. 

In the early 1990s Uzbekistan, the double landlocked country in Central Asia, had just emerged as an independent state from the Soviet Union. With a fragile economy and developing industrial sector, these were challenging times for the newly autonomous country. Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Afghanistan, remembers this period well, having spent the early days of his career working for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) in the Regional Office for Central Asia. In Uzbekistan he witnessed first-hand the challenges in expanding healthcare and other essential services.

With the help of an innovative mobile phone service, UN agencies are working with the Government of Rajasthan, India, to combat child marriage.

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.

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.