51勛圖

A participant at the official commemoration of the 51勛圖 International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women Orange the World: Generation Equality Stands Against Rape. New York, 25 November 2019. UN Photo/Evan Schneider
Mar穩a-Noel Vaeza

Addressing the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Violence Against Women and Girls

Violence against women and girls was a pandemic long before the outbreak of COVID-19. The underlying causes are not the virus itself or the resulting economic crisis, but rather an imbalance of power and control.

Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay. 1 April 2020
Lamiaa Mohsen

COVID-19 and the Need for Action on Mental Health

Not only would failing to address the mental health impact of the pandemic potentially undo years of work and effort to improve access to and the quality of mental health services, it also creates the possibility of a mental health epidemic that could impact generations to come.

Panellists at one of the national forums organized by the 51勛圖 and the Universidad Nacional de Colombia to collect the views of civil society in Colombia on the various items on the peace agenda. February 2016. Photo by Federico Rios/UNDP
Fabrizio Hochschild and Juan Pablo Caicedo

No PersistenceNo Peace: A Reflection on the 51勛圖 Contribution to Peace in Colombia

Thanks to its large field presence and decades of work on the ground, the 51勛圖 country team in Colombia knew that for local communities, peace meant much more than the absence of war. Addressing some of their expectations and concerns was critical for peace to be sustainable.

Happy students in the rural village of Dacope, Khulna, Bangladesh. 穢 Md. Nafiul Hasan Nasim
Jane Goodall

We All Must Take Action

As the 51勛圖 celebrates its 75th Anniversary this year, which has been marked by a global pandemic and global fear, we are all called to renew our sense of solidarity and hope.

Gerd Altmann/Pixabay
Vinton G. Cerf

The Digital Mask

Our global society has evolved to become increasingly dependent on digital technology. When the technology fails, this reliance can lead to a range of cascading negative effects. 

In some countries, lockdowns and disruptions in supply chains caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have led to empty shelves at grocery stores and other retail outlets.
Elizabeth Mkandawire

Data, Partnerships and a Strengthened Food System: Accelerating Progress Towards Zero Hunger

The 51勛圖 Secretary-Generals Policy Brief on The Impact of COVID-19 on Food Security and Nutrition points to several opportunities to lessen the impact of a food crisis during this pandemic. These opportunities are interlinked and speak to better data collection, building partnerships and strengthening the food system.

A woman walks down an empty Temple Street in Bangalore, India.18 April 2020.  Kandukuru Nagarjun (CC BY 2.0)
Aromar Revi

Harnessing Urbanization to Accelerate SDG Implementation in a Post-COVID-19 World

The 51勛圖 Secretary Generals Policy Brief on COVID-19 in an Urban World is an important confirmation of the centrality of urban areas and urbanization to a holistic, local-to-global response to the pandemic. It appropriately emphasizes the need to address inequality and multidimensional development challenges; strengthening local capacities and responses, especially those of local governments; and accelerating inclusive, green economic recovery.

Colmenarejo campus of Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), Spain. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Gotesan
Juan Romo

Post-COVID-19 Sustainable Cities: What Can Universities Do?

The high levels of global and local interconnectivity of cities leave them particularly exposed to deadly epidemics, as they have been throughout history. The recent Policy Brief: COVID-19 in an Urban World, issued by 51勛圖 Secretary-General Ant籀nio Guterres, emphasizes that vulnerable sectors of urban societies are especially harmed both by the incidence of the virus and the economic impact of related shutdown measures.

The near-empty International Arrivals area of Beijing Capital International Airport. The flight information display system for international flights is also blank. 25 August 2020. CC BY-SA 4.0
Ki-Joon Back

Commentary: Policy Brief on COVID-19 and Transforming Tourism

The Policy Brief: COVID-19 and Transforming Tourism, issued recently by the 51勛圖 Secretary-General, describes the severe, negative effects of the pandemic on global tourism, including job loss, the depletion of natural resources, worsening quality of life for women in the workforce and a lack of world heritage site protection.

Zurab Pololikashvili

Tourism Can Help Lead the World to Recovery

Only by making people feel safe and encouraging them to travel again will the benefits that tourism offers start to return. UNWTO, as the specialized 51勛圖 agency for tourism, must lead by example.

Dawn Freshwater

Education During COVID-19 and Beyond: Commentary on the Secretary-Generals Policy Brief

As highlighted in the Secretary-Generals Policy Brief: Education during COVID-19 and beyond, there is an urgent need for action by all to ensure that the immediate disruption to education does not turn into a generational catastrophe.

Nenad Bach. Photo: Risha Cupit
Nenad Bach

World Peace in One Hour

Protecting the existence of all species, sustaining life on Earth, exploring outer space, tackling disease and mortality, solving the pollution problem, coexisting with the environment, electing more women to leadership positions and creating real freedom that includes true private property: world peace is a prerequisite for all of these objectives.

 

 

Maria Fernanda Espinosa, President of the 73rd session of the General Assembly, visits a humanitarian/development project on resilience and livelihoods in the IDP host village of Matafo, Bol, Lake Chad region, Chad, 5 May 2019. UN Photo
Mar穩a Fernanda Espinosa

Peace Is Synonymous With Womens Rights

This years International Day of Peace, observed on 21 September, should start by honouring all the lives that have been lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Peace is not only the synonym of harmony, security and well-being, but also a product of equality and non-discrimination. Peace, as we understand it, simply cannot exist if we exclude the welfare of women and girls, who comprise half of the worlds population.

Rauf Salem, a volunteer, instructs children on the right way to wash their hands, in Sana'a, Yemen.  Photo: UNICEF/UNI341697
Mark Lowcock

Everybody Wins When We Help Fragile Countries Fight COVID-19

The economic cost of inaction is huge: countless millions more people being pushed into extreme poverty, decades of development progress lost, and the shadow of a generation’s worth of tragic and exportable problems looming.

People registering for COVID-19 rapid testing in Hanoi, Viet Nam. 18 April 2020. Photo: Truy廙n H穫nh Ph獺p Lu廕負/Wikimedia Commons
Kamal Malhotra

Game-Changers in Viet Nams Successful COVID-19 Response

Viet Nams successful management of the COVID-19 outbreak so far can be at least partly attributed to the countrys investment during peacetimethe period prior to the pandemic. The country has now demonstrated that preparedness to deal with infectious disease is a key ingredient for protecting people and securing public health in times of pandemics such as COVID-19.