Today, the United Nations Joint SDG Fund announces a US$41 million portfolio to catalyze strategic financing to accelerate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The allocation expands the Joint SDG Fund’s investments to date to US$223 million, encompassing programming in 112 countries for Integrated Social Protection and SDG Investments.
Yemenis currently live through the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, a disaster compounded by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and severe economic crisis. Two thirds of Yemenis need humanitarian assistance to survive. More than 16 million people will face hunger this year.
UN country teams across the world are playing a critical role as they support local and national authorities to rollout vaccination efforts. They are also taking immediate and proactive measures to curtail the rise of Ebola cases in countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Guinea.
In January, tropical storm Eloíse killed at least 6 people in Mozambique. That number might seem low, but the true impact is much greater. The storm also displaced 18,000 people and has affected a total of 250,000. It also caused considerable damage to 76 health centres and 400 classrooms.
From deploying robots to procuring and delivering vaccines worldwide, UN country teams are tirelessly supporting local and national authorities in the fight against COVID-19.
Cape Verde has recently introduced a vaccine to prevent cervical cancer associated with the human papillomavirus (HPV) for children and adolescents. The human papillomavirus (HPV), transmitted through sexual contact, is responsible for 70 per cent (%) of cervical cancer cases registered worldwide.
Life can be hard in the rural villages of southern Niger. Sometimes, like last year and the year before, insects destroy the crops. And not least of all, there’s the weather. The mercury can soar past 40 degrees in the hot season, and the rains can come hard and fast in the wet season. One day, recalls Asma Abdou, “A heavy rain started to fall at 4:00 in the afternoon. At 7:00, I put the children to bed under a mosquito net”—that’s to protect them from insect-borne diseases such as malaria.
The fight against COVID-19 continues and so does the work of our UN country teams worldwide. Teams are delivering medical and personal protective equipment, aiding authorities in national vaccination roll-outs, and helping with overall recovery and response. Today, we highlight some of those efforts.
