Around the world: Daily updates from UN country teams - September 2023
Our UN teams are on the ground in 162 countries and territories, coordinating joint programmes and tackling a range of multi-faceted priorities and key initiatives on a daily basis — from climate action and food security to gender equality and safety of civilians. UN Resident Coordinators and their teams utilize innovative approaches to problem-solving to better serve communities. Below are some highlights of their work this month.
Friday, 29 September
Armenia: UN team's support to the rising influx of refugees crossing the border
Our UN team in Armenia, led by acting Resident Coordinator Nanna Skau, is working with the Government to support the rapidly rising influx of refugees crossing the border. According to the latest official figures around 93,000 people have crossed into Armenia. The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) is supporting thousands of women in transit centres in the southeastern regions of Syunik and Vayots Dzor with 8,000 dignity kits, including drinking water, sanitary pads, soap, and more. Supporting health authorities, our UN team has distributed 150,000 health kits to support the current number of refugees along with their host communities. For its part, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has established a safe space in the southeastern town of Goris, serving nearly 300 children every day along with their parents, backed by a humanitarian hub. UNICEF also provided health authorities with essential medicine and supplies for children. For its part, the World Food Programme (WFP) has placed two mobile warehouses in Goris for non-food items storage and a mobile kitchen serving up to 3,000 people every day. WFP has also delivered 4000 food parcels to support 16,000 people in need in the Syunik region. Along with WHO and UNICEF, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) is preparing to launch a psychosocial support scheme to cover the needs of over 12,000 refugees. Our UN team is on standby to increase its support, pending an official Government request.
Wednesday, 27 September
Costa Rica: Alliance to create the first National Strategy against Hate Speech and discrimination in Latin America and the Caribbean
The Government of Costa Rica and our UN team, led by Resident Coordinator Allegra Baiocchi, announced today their alliance to create the first National Strategy against Hate Speech and discrimination in Latin America and the Caribbean. Costa Rica has experienced a sustained growth of hate speech on social networks, which has tripled since 2021, and there is evidence of a growing trend of violence and intentions of aggression, particularly against women and historically marginalized groups. The strategy, expected to be ready in the next few months, will be a consultative process with contributions from civil society, academia, the private sector, institutions, multilateral organizations, and national and international experts. It will include fact-finding investigations including through the use of artificial intelligence, workshops, national consultations, high level panels and discussions and political agreements.
Monday, 25 September
Central African Republic: Concerns about 1.7 million at risk of suffering acute food insecurity
We have an update from our UN team in the Central African Republic. They are concerned that around 1.7 million people are at risk of suffering acute food insecurity, according to a recent report from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Our team, led by Deputy Special Representative Mohamed Ag Ayoya, who also serves as the Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator, is working with the government to tackle this crisis. For the past five months, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) have provided food support to nearly 40,000 Chadian and Sudanese refugees in the northwest and northeast regions. WFP has also transferred nearly $10 million in cash-based assistance since the beginning of the year, providing nutritious meals to nearly 125,000 school children. For its part, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has secured over 82,000 cartoons of therapeutic food. Also, FAO distributed in the past three months close to 1.2 tonnes of different seeds, including to plant peanut, maize, rice, and 325 tonnes of fertilizer.
Wednesday, 6 September
Costa Rica: New guide to protect women in politics from digital violence, ahead of country's local elections
Our UN team in Costa Rica, led by Resident Coordinator Allegra Baiocchi, launched yesterday a new guide to protect women in politics from digital violence, ahead of the country’s local elections scheduled to take place in February 2024. Our team also released new alarming figures: While the overall rise in online hate speech rose 50 per cent in the past year, specifically targeted online hate against women jumped 72 per cent during the same period. Our UN team hails the fact that for the first time, political parties now have the obligation to comply with gender parity in all their list of candidates. UN Resident Coordinator Allegra Baiocchi said she hopes this new guide will be an important resource for women, encouraging them to run for office and helping them stay safe – online and offline. The new tool offers support for victims to report online hate and access legal assistance for individual or collective actions. It also provides practical advice on reporting online violence against women on social media. [Link to the online tool in Spanish: costarica.un.org]
Tuesday, 5 September
Liberia: Addressing food insecurity
An update from Liberia, where our UN team, led by Christine Umutoni, is boosting its response to national efforts to address food insecurity. This follows a recent report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) showing that over half a million people are currently facing acute food insecurity in the country, and 21,500 people faced emergency food insecurity levels between June and August this year. Our team has been training almost 2,700 smallholder farmers in sustainable agricultural practices over the last six months, providing seed funding, assets, and equipment such as water pumps or improved rice and vegetable seeds, to rural communities. For its part, the World Food Programme (WFP), in collaboration with the Liberian Ministry of Education, is also reaching over 42,000 schoolchildren with onsite meals from locally-produced food sources.
Interested in more? Check out previous daily updates from UN teams 'around the world':
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