What's New

The United Nations Sustainable Development Group (UNSDG) met virtually today to coordinate support so countries can overcome and recover better from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Against the backdrop of the raging COVID-19 pandemic, the world economy in 2020 is projected to shrink by 3.2 per cent, racking up some $8.5 trillion in overall losses – wiping out nearly four years of output gains, according to a mid-year economic analysis by the United Nations.

Our shared vulnerability to the coronavirus pandemic reveals “our common humanity”, the UN chief said on Tuesday during an online meeting with religious leaders on the important role they can play, in limiting the damage caused by COVID-19.
 

As the coronavirus outbreak enters its fifth month, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that the health crisis is “quickly becoming a child rights crisis”, requesting $1.6 billion to support its humanitarian response for children impacted by the pandemic. And without urgent action, a further 6,000 under-fives could die each day.

As COVID-19 upends lives and livelihoods across the planet, the UN on Monday held a wide-ranging policy discussion stressing a range of multilateral solutions to ease the pandemic, while also getting back on track towards achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The resurgence of COVID-19 cases in South Korea, China and Germany following the lifting of stay-at-home restrictions demonstrates the complexity of easing these measures, World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday.

“Over the weekend we saw signs of the challenges that may lie ahead”, he told journalists.

Three senior United Nations officials in the Middle East are calling for the release of Palestinian children from Israeli-run prisons and detentions centres, saying they are at particular risk of COVID-19 infection.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres is calling for concerted global action to quash the “tsunami” of hate speech that has risen alongside the COVID-19 pandemic.

“COVID-19 does not care who we are, where we live, what we believe or about any other distinction. We need every ounce of solidarity to tackle it together. Yet the pandemic continues to unleash a tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scare-mongering”, he said.

The UN food agency, FAO, warns that hunger and fatalities could rise significantly in urban areas, without measures to ensure that poor and vulnerable residents have access to food. In Latin America, cities are finding ways to keep food supplies flowing, despite the current restrictions on movement and supplies.

The Latin American response

Several Latin American municipalities have been taking action to minimise the consequences of lockdown measures, and ensure that food systems do not break down, as work dries up. 

The US island state of Hawaii has committed to generating 100 per cent of its power using renewable energy by 2045, demonstrating to other US states and island communities across the world, that sustainable energy can be a reality. UN News travelled to Hawaii with the International Labour Organization (ILO) to talk to a power company executive and a sheep farmer to find out how they are contributing to that goal.