On August 4th, 2020, a devastating blast in a warehouse destroyed much of the centre of the Lebanese capital, Beirut. Many neighbourhoods were destroyed, downtown Beirut looked like a war zone. Thousands were injured and some 200 people tragically lost their lives on that day and the days that followed. For many, their property and livelihoods were literally blown away.
On 2 July, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Savina Ammassari of Brazil as the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Gabon, with the host Government’s approval.
The United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration has begun. The UN has appealed to leaders of Latin America and the Caribbean — a region containing seven of the most biodiverse countries in the world — to scale up commitments made to restore our much-needed ecosystems. This plea comes as Caribbean countries brace for an active hurricane season.
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.
Lerato — not her real name — is a 20-year-old first-year student at the local university. She hunkers down on her chair a few metres from where I’m sitting with her head fixed to the floor. She looks sad, tired and dejected, avoiding any eye contact, as if ashamed of what we were about to talk about.
The COVID-19 pandemic has put a strain on Jordan's infrastructure and resources, which, in turn, has substantially impacted Jordanian society and has brought additional hurdles to the refugee communities, especially for the women and girls in these communities. Today, we highlight three inspiring stories of resilience.
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.
Many years ago, as a little girl, Heni Dwi Windarwati was out walking with her parents when a stranger approached them on the street. “He walked towards me, seemingly out of the blue, and kissed me on my forehead. I remembered not feeling scared because my parents did not react strongly to it,” she remembers. Her parents explained that the man had a severe mental health condition and did not mean any harm. Years later, this interest in mental health inspired her to get a doctorate in psychiatric nursing.
World Environment Day, which fell on 5 June, marked the official launch of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, a global push to revive natural spaces lost to development. In the lead-up to the Decade’s launch, we are looking back on some of our most popular restoration-related stories, including this piece originally published in September 2020.
2030 Agenda and the SDGs
Help us improve your experience.
We are revamping the UNSDG website to make it clearer, more accessible and easier to navigate.
Can you share your feedback through a 7 question anonymous survey to support the process?
