Category: Development

In a letter to the members of the Group of 20 industralized powers (G-20), Antonio Guterres welcomed their decision to convene an emergency virtual summit on the pandemic, which has already affected health, education and economies worldwide. “COVID-19 will require a response like none before — a ‘war-time’ plan in times of human crisis”, he wrote on Monday. “The G-20… Read More

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s order for the country’s 1.3 billion people to stay home, is an escalation of the 07:00 – 21:00 “Janata curfew” introduced on March 22, and it comes a day after the government grounded all domestic flights. Mr. Modi reportedly declared that the lockdown applies to “every district, every lane, every village”, and warned that “If you… Read More

UN-Habitat said the impacts of the new coronavirus disease could be considerably higher on the urban poor living in slums, where overcrowding also makes it difficult to follow other recommended measures such as social distancing and self-isolation.  UN-Habitat is based in Nairobi, home to the Kibera slum, where people live hand-to-mouth and water access points are hard to find. They are even harder to get to when movement restrictions are in place, in the hope… Read More

The campaign involves a video featuring many of the biggest names in football (soccer to those in the US), including Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson, and former England team captain, and World Cup semi-finalist, Gary Lineker. FIFA President Gianni Infanti, said that the organization is calling on everyone to follow the WHO’s five key steps to stop the spread… Read More

“The fury of the virus illustrates the folly of war”, he said.  “That is why today, I am calling for an immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world.  It is time to put armed conflict on lockdown and focus together on the true fight of our lives.”  To warring parties: Pull back from hostilities. Silence the guns; stop the… Read More

“Every day, COVID-19 seems to reach a new and tragic milestone”, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told journalists, revealing that the agency had received reports of more than 210,000 cases and over 9,000 people deaths. While stressing that “every loss of life is a tragedy”, he maintained that it also provides “motivation to double down and do everything we can… Read More

“To stop COVID-19 anywhere, it must be stopped everywhere”, Jens Laerke, Spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) underscored at a joint press briefing in Geneva on Friday, adding that if the worldwide transmission is not broken, “the virus could cycle back” to countries that thought they were safe.   ?️Identify potential vulnerability?Monitor markets, supply… Read More

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was speaking during his regular briefing in Geneva where he highlighted latest developments in the UN agency’s support to countries facing what he described as “an invisible enemy against humanity”.  WHO has shipped personal protective equipment (PPE) to nearly 70 countries, while 120 nations have received 1.5 million diagnostic kits.    The agency is finalizing export arrangements with producers in China so that more supplies can be… Read More

In light of this “unpredictable and volatile situation”, Mona Juul tweeted on Thursday that she and the President of the General Assembly have decided to postpone the upcoming meeting to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development for Least Developed Countries (LDC).  She also gave her assurances that they would work with the LDC chair “to find… Read More

UN News spoke to Ms. Luwei Pearson, Acting Director of UNICEF’s Health Programme Division, about the agency’s quick response to the coronavirus outbreak and other issues related to what is now a global pandemic, including its impact on millions of children faced with school closures.   © UNICEF/Luisa Brumana Luwei Pearson (right), Acting Head of the Health Section of UNICEF on… Read More