The town of Kodok sits on the west bank of the Nile in the north of South Sudan. You can’t get there by road and there are no commercial flights that go there. That means that outside help is hard to get.
The UN country teams continue their efforts to provide local and national authorities worldwide support in the fight against COVID-19. Today, we highlight some of those efforts.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Amakobe Sande of Kenya as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Eritrea, with the host Government’s approval.
"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.
UN country teams worldwide are continuing the fight against COVID-19 by stepping up efforts to support governments in their response and recovery efforts, including the vaccination efforts via the COVAX Facility.
At the 2019 launch of the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy, the Secretary-General said that the UN should lead by example and raise its standards and performance on disability inclusion. That includes all UN digital platforms. The UNSDG website and social media channels are walking the talk on boosting accessibility.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are perhaps the most ambitious undertaking for global peace and prosperity since the formation of the United Nations. Achieving the goals requires that the UN system work together within and across countries like never before.
You never know what crisis might strike, something that calls on the UN to act big and fast. If the world didn’t understand this before COVID-19, it does now. But an emergency can strike at any level.
