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Response plan launched to support 1.4 million Rohingya and Bangladeshis

“Humanitarian agencies are seeking more than $881 million to support approximately 1.4 million people, including over 918,000 Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar and Bhasan Char, and around 540,000 Bangladeshis in neighbouring communities,” UNHCR spokesperson Babar Baloch told journalists during a press briefing in Geneva.

The launch of the 2022 Joint Response Plan (JRP) for the Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis, was co-hosted by the Government of Bangladesh, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNHCR.

The JRP brings together the activities of 136 partners, 74 of which are Bangladeshi organizations – while also recognizes the significant contributions that the refugees themselves make to the response.

it is important that Rohingya refugees are able to live in safety and with dignity – UN refugee agency

Do not forget the Rohingya

For decades the international community has been supporting the Bangladesh Government as they generously host Rohingya refugees.

However, as global displacement continues to rise, UNHCR and partners emphasized the need to keep the Rohingya situation in the public’s eye – lest it become a forgotten crisis.

“It is, therefore, vital to ensure continued funding and support to meet the needs of refugees and surrounding host communities,” said Mr. Balock.

Precarious location

Given their geography, the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar are especially vulnerable to natural disasters.

This year’s JRP accordingly highlighted the need for enhanced efforts towards disaster risk management and climate change mitigation, including through reforestation and energy interventions.

The steadfast support from the international community has been, and will be, crucial in delivering lifesaving protection and assistance services for Rohingya refugees,” he said.

“While they are in Bangladesh, it is important that Rohingya refugees are able to live in safety and with dignity, and that they can develop the skills and capacities that could support their sustainable return”.

Rohingya children play after the rain in Nayapara refugee camp in Teknaf, eastern Bangladesh.

© UNHCR/Amos Halder
Rohingya children play after the rain in Nayapara refugee camp in Teknaf, eastern Bangladesh.

Returning to Myanmar

The UNHCR spokesperson explained that many of the people on the move long to again live in their own country.

A military coup which took place in February last year, followed by a brutal crackdown on popular protests, has created a political, economic and “profound” human rights crisis across Myanmar, leaving the country in turmoil, the UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet warned earlier this month.

“Many Rohingya refugees continue to express their desire to return home when conditions allow,” he said.

“The solutions ultimately lie within Myanmar”.

Meanwhile, UNHCR and its partners maintain a presence in Rakhine State, to support Myanmar in creating the conditions conducive for the refugees to return.

Expanding assistance

For the first time, the JRP also included humanitarian activities on Bhasan Char, an island in the Bay of Bengal, to which the Bangladesh Government has relocated over 24,000 Rohingya refugees.

“It is critical to continue to scale up essential humanitarian services on the island, including in the areas of health, protection, nutrition, education, and livelihoods and skills building,” underscored the UNHCR official.

Dire impact from floods in South Sudan as new wet season looms 

“Urgent action is needed to protect already vulnerable populations from its worst impacts,” Andrew Harper, UNHCR Special Advisor on Climate Action, told a regular press briefing in Geneva. 

Subsistence farming ‘decimated’

In 2021, the fragile country – struggling to overcome political and economic challenges since it gained independence in 2011 – had its worst recorded flooding ever, impacting more than 835,000 people, according to the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA.  

Record rainfall in the past three years and overflowing rivers, have flooded thousands of hectares of farmland in eight states – preventing people from planting crops – and leading to the killing of nearly 800,000 livestock, without anything to feed them.

“This has decimated the subsistence farming that most communities depend upon to survive and substantially worsened food insecurity,” Mr. Harper said.  

Water refuses to recede

Moreover, 33 out of 79 counties have been badly affected by the flood waters, which have not significantly subsided since the last wet season.

The impacts are especially harsh in Jonglei, Unity and Upper Nile states, where thousands of people have been displaced or marooned in dike-ringed compounds, holding back floodwaters with mud, sticks and plastic sheeting. 

Meanwhile, the approaching wet season threatens to swamp extremely remote communities where residents are already surrounded by floodwater. 

“Such climate events will worsen in future, as extremes become the norm, not the exception,” the UNHCR spokesperson said. “Globally, floods and droughts are becoming more frequent and intense”.

Though contributing least to carbon emissions, developing countries like South Sudan are being disproportionately affected.  

Canoes have become the only means of transport for residents of Old Fangak, South Sudan.

© UNHCR/Samuel Otieno
Canoes have become the only means of transport for residents of Old Fangak, South Sudan.

Hard to reach areas

During a five-day visit earlier this month, UNHCR Special Advisor Harper toured Old Fangak, Malakal, Jamjang and Bentiu where he saw first-hand the human impact of the flooding.

He recounted that poor road infrastructure, or the lack of any passable roads, make it hard for outside help to reach remote locations, such as Old Fangak in Jonglei state, where a former airstrip is completely submerged and currently unusable for landing.

“In Old Fangak, I met with a twice-displaced woman in her 70s, who spent her days deep in murky floodwaters, desperately plugging a porous earthen dike with sticks and mud, to prevent water swamping the small compound housing her family,” the UNHCR official said. “It is truly heart-breaking to see”. 

Ahead of the rains, marooned residents of Old Fangkak said they need water pumps to bail out their compounds.

“Heavy equipment is also needed to make sturdy flood barriers and build mounds to keep their livestock above water,” he continued. 

“UNHCR has provided plastic sheets, hoes, spades, and sandbags to help strengthen their flood defences, and is supporting families displaced to Malakal and other towns”.

Avoiding ‘devastating’ repercussions

Visiting Yida refugee camp in Unity state, Mr. Harper witnessed a polar-opposite situation: a region in the grip of drought.  

Access to the most vulnerable populations is a major impediment for humanitarian relief,” he said.

Despite multiple challenges, the climate action advisor observed that “residents have been extremely generous to those displaced by violence or hazardous weather events, often sharing the meagre resources they have.”

However, he maintained, they need “sustained support to avert devastating consequences”. 

A case of survival 

The UNHCR spokesperson warned that if assistance is not stepped up for the people of South Sudan, “the climate crisis coupled with ongoing insecurity mean that resources will further shrink, leaving people with no means to survive.” 

Accelerated action is required to avoid mounting losses, ensure better preparation, and secure a liveable, sustainable future. 

“We know that if we do not act now, the cost will be high, with devastating human consequences,” he concluded.

World football goes for goal, in aid of Ukraine

The Football for Ukraine Emergency Appeal, #football4Ukraine, is led by the two UN agencies, together with six leading footballers – three of whom are former refugees – aiming to raise funds to help those on the run, inside and outside wartorn Ukraine. 

Football stars and Goodwill Ambassadors

The video-appeal includes players from across the English Premier League, Germany’s top division, the Bundesliga, and from the highest division of women’s football in France, Division 1 Féminine, accompanied by music from WFP’s Goodwill Ambassador, the Weeknd.

The three players with a refugee background are UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador and FC Bayern Munich sensation, Alphonso Davies, Mahmoud Dahoud (Borussia Dortmund) – the first Syrian refugee to play in the Bundesliga – and Everton FC goalkeeper, Asmir Begovic, who was forced to flee his home in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

They are joined by Manchester City right-back and FIFA Women’s Player of 2020, Lucy Bronze; Olympique Lyonnais’ Ada Hegerberg, the first woman recipient of the Ballon d’Or; and Manchester United’s Juan Mata, a World Cup winner with Spain.

“It is very sad to see millions of people displaced from around the world due to war. The need for support is growing by the day. This is why this appeal is important, to get urgent aid where it is needed, for everyone”, said Alphonso Davies, who was the first football player to take UNHCR’s Ambassadorial role

Growing crisis

The joint appeal comes at a time when almost a quarter of Ukraine’s population – more than 10 million people – have been forced from their homes. According to UNHCR, some 3.9 million refugees have been forced to flee the country, making this the fastest-growing refugee crisis since the Second World War.

Following recent data, an additional 6.5 million people have been displaced within Ukraine’s borders, and at least 13 million are estimated to be stranded in affected areas or unable to leave due to heightened security risks, destruction of bridges and roads, as well as lack of resources or information on where to find safety and accommodation.

‘Heartbroken’ for Ukraine

Speaking of the millions of people including many children who have been forced to flee their homes in Ukraine, with no idea of what the future holds, Lucy Bronze said she was “heartbroken by the situation”.

“It’s even more shocking to think that this is on top of the more than 84 million people already displaced around the world. I hope our appeal for people displaced in Ukraine will deliver the support they need,” she added.

The joint appeal brings together UNHCR’s expertise in protecting families forced to flee and WFP’s experience in saving lives in conflict zones.

We are inspired by the response we’ve seen from football fans all over the world. – UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi

The two organizations will ensure donations have the greatest impact for people affected by the emergency in Ukraine, allocating resources raised to provide food, shelter, psychosocial support, financial assistance, and other life-saving aid.  

On the ground

In Ukraine, UNHCR is working to provide emergency, shelter and cash assistance and critical protection services for those who have fled their homes.

The agency is also helping coordinate the refugee response across the region, providing critical humanitarian and protection assistance, and supporting authorities to increase capacities to receive and host new arrivals.

Bread distribution inside a subway station in Kharkiv,  Ukraine.

© WFP
Bread distribution inside a subway station in Kharkiv, Ukraine.

We are inspired by the response we’ve seen from football fans all over the world, who are showing their support for people affected by the conflict in Ukraine”, said UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi.

“Our message to everyone, is to remember that no-one chooses to become a refugee. Refugees – from Ukraine and beyond – are placed in the most heart-breaking of circumstances, forced to flee for their lives. Each of us can do our bit and unite behind the campaign, to extend our support”.

Millions of people in Ukraine are living their worst nightmare. – WFP Executive Director David Beasley

WFP is building a massive operation to provide food for civilians trapped in major cities and assist others impacted by the conflict who have fled to neighboring countries.

The UN emergency food agency’s teams are also setting up operations and hubs in several locations in the neighboring countries to facilitate delivery of humanitarian assistance into Ukraine.

“There cannot be a harvest where it’s raining bombs”, said WFP Executive Director David Beasley.

Millions of people in Ukraine are living their worst nightmare and, unless the war stops now, the breadbasket of Europe will be unable to feed itself. With each day of fighting, hunger is tightening its grip not only in Ukraine but also in countries far away from its borders, who rely on Ukrainian wheat and grain to keep their poorest citizens alive. This war is a catastrophe for the world”, Mr. Beasley added.

Stand together

The players, are calling on fans – wherever they are and whatever club they support – to stand together as one team and support people driven from their homes by the war in Ukraine by donating to the appeal here. 

In a year of unprecedented humanitarian needs, the crisis in Ukraine is a catastrophe compounding what is already a catastrophic year for the poorest and most vulnerable around the world.

While UNHCR and WFP scale up to respond to the growing needs of the Ukraine crisis, they continue to deliver in other critical situations such as in Afghanistan, Syria, South Sudan, Yemen, and other humanitarian crises around the world, often far away from the spotlight. 

DR Congo: UN envoy calls for strategy to address root causes of conflict

Bintou Keita, who heads the UN Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), was briefing the Security Council on Tuesday, on recent developments there.

She said that only three months into this year, nearly 2,300 civilian deaths had been recorded in the country’s eastern provinces. “This is proof of the inherent limits of only having security operations to resolve conflicts,” she said.

Armed groups

Ms. Keita said the security situation in the country’s east has deteriorated despite the joint military operations against armed groups by the national security forces, known as the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC), which was joined by the Ugandan People’s Defence Forces (UPDF).

She said civilian losses and displacement of populations have increased because of bloody reprisals by Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militants.

In the past three months, there has been an alarming increase in activities by the M23 rebel movement in North Kivu. On Monday, M23 elements carried out horrific attacks, targeting civilians in communities near Rutshuru.

In North Kivu, the situation has worsened because of the use of improvised explosive devices by the ADF. On 11 March, its leadership renewed its allegiance to Da’esh. MONUSCO has also documented a 10 per cent increase in human rights violations and attacks, since last December.

Helicopter crash: Investigation launched

Earlier on Tuesday, the mission reported that a search and rescue operation was underway, after a Puma helicopter lost contact with MONUSCO and crashed in the restive North Kivu region.

Speaking at the regular noon briefing, UN Spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, said there had been eight people on board, including six crew members – all from the Pakistani military – and two military personnel – one from Russia, and another from Serbia.

They had been on a reconnaissance mission in the area of Tshanzu, south-east of Rutshuru – the scene of recent clashes between Congolese forces and M23.

An investigation is underway. We will update you as soon as more information becomes available”, Mr. Dujarric said.

Our thoughts are obviously with the families and friends of those onboard the helicopter, and all of our colleagues of the UN Mission of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.”

Bintou Keita (on screen), UN Special Representative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and head of MONUSCO, briefs the Security Council meeting on the situation in the country.

© UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe
Bintou Keita (on screen), UN Special Representative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and head of MONUSCO, briefs the Security Council meeting on the situation in the country.

Civilians increasingly vulnerable

Ms. Keita sounded the alarm in the Security Council over the considerable erosion of the protection of sites for displaced persons as well as frequent attacks against medical services and other civilian infrastructure.

In the face of these security changes, MONUSCO has redoubled its efforts to better protect civilians in Ituri, working jointly with FARDC/UPDF, deploying support units for FARDC to increase the deterrent effect against M23 in North Kivu.

The Mission is also pursuing mobile deployments to protect displaced persons in South Kivu, she said.

However, without a combined approach addressing both the causes and the symptoms, the efforts of both the United Nations and Congolese forces will remain insufficient, she emphasized, adding that in Tanganyika province, the Mission is closely monitoring the evolution of the security dynamics ahead of its scheduled withdrawal in June.

‘Difficult months ahead’ in Ukraine, as deaths rise, along with global shortages

Joyce Msuya, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, told the 15-member Council that the real death toll is likely much higher than what has been confirmed so far, with so many of the most heavily-bombarded areas targeted by Russian forces, inaccessible to verify casualties.

“Cities, like Mariupol, Kharkiv, Chernihiv and many others – bustling and full of life just one month ago – are encircled, bombarded and blockaded,” she said, emphasizing that at least 99 children number among the dead and injured, as hospitals, homes and schools are destroyed.

‘Not even safe to bury the dead’ 

Joyce Msuya, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, briefs UN Security Council members on Ukraine.

Providing an update on the humanitarian situation four weeks into the conflict, the Assistant Secretary-General noted that civilians in the encircled towns and cities lack food, water, medicine, electricity and heating.

“In some neighborhoods, it’s not even safe to bury the dead,” she said.

Meanwhile, more than 10 million people – including more than half of Ukraine’s children – have fled their homes.

That includes some 6.5 million who are internally displaced within the country, according to figures from the International Organization for Migration (IOM)

Scaled-up response

In response, the UN humanitarian system has scaled up its work dramatically.

Since 24 February, humanitarian organizations have reached around 890,000 people across Ukraine with food, shelter, blankets, medicine, bottled water and hygiene supplies.

On 18 March, after delays due to ongoing hostilities, the first UN-organized convoy reached the town of Sumy in northeast Ukraine, delivering food and supplies to some 35,000 people and helping to repair the town’s water system. 

second convoy reached Kharkiv, just on Monday.

However, treacherous security risks and access challenges are hampering those efforts, with many routes disrupted and humanitarian convoys and workers frequently unable to pass due to shelling, fighting and landmines.

At the border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova at Palanca, refugees stand in line

© UNICEF/Vincent Tremeau
At the border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova at Palanca, refugees stand in line

Impacts on global food supply

Also briefing the Council on Tuesday was David Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP), who described the humanitarian situation in Ukraine as a “catastrophe on top of a catastrophe.”

As Ukraine transforms “from a breadbasket to a bread line,” he also warned of reverberating impacts on the global food supply, stressing that food insecurity in the Sahel, North Africa and the Middle East is likely to worsen and cannot be ignored.

Much of those regions’ supplies of wheat and other food staples comes from Ukraine and the Russian Federation, where it is currently planting season for maize. June and July are the harvest seasons for wheat crops.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) issued a similar warning, also on Tuesday.

Mr. Beasley stressed that the problem of food insecurity will be further compounded by a reduction in fertilizer-based products from the Russian Federation and Belarus, which is likely to result in a 50 per cent drop in yields in many countries.

“There will be difficult months ahead,” he warned.

Libya detention centres remain places of violations and abuse: experts

On the sidelines of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, head of the Fact-Finding Mission on Libya, Mohamed Auajjar, told journalists that investigators had uncovered further evidence of serious rights violations, which they first made public last October.

These abuses against migrants, refugees and asylum seekers are detailed in a report which will be presented to the Council on Wednesday, Mr. Auajjar said.

His team’s findings include new information on “20 detention facilities, official and unofficial…(and) secret prison networks that are allegedly controlled by armed militias”.

Years of violent instability

The development comes amid a backdrop of ongoing violence and lawlessness in Libya linked to the country’s protracted crisis that followed the overthrow of President Muammar Gadaffi in 2011.

After years of volatility, the situation came to a head – and thousands died – after April 2019, when fighting erupted between factions of the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) commanded by Khalifa Haftar, based in the east, and the internationally-recognized government in the capital, Tripoli, located in the west.

The escalation prompted a ceasefire appeal from UN Secretary-General António Guterres to avoid the “bloody battle for Tripoli”, amid fighting in and around the capital.

Today, tensions remain high after national elections were postponed last December, Mr Auajjar explained, with “two competing governments” still in place.

“Against this backdrop, violence and violations and abuses of international human rights law continued,” he noted, adding that these “violations and abuses and crimes…can especially hamper Libya’s transition to peace, democracy and the rule of law”.

Democratic freedoms curtailed

Among the investigators’ other findings, they also highlighted how people had been reportedly detained for expressing “views about the elections, or support for candidates”.

Equally worrying was the “ongoing impunity for attacks against women politicians, which undermines women’s meaningful political participation”, Mr. Auajjar said, adding that there had been attacks on civil society organizations, on activists, on human rights defenders and on journalists”.

In another incident indicative of the country’s instability, the Mission’s report detailed how “a group of armed men” had surrounded the Court of Appeal which had been due to hear an appeal by would-be presidential candidate Saif al-Islam Gadaffi – son of the country’s toppled premier – against his exclusion from the December poll.

Migrants sit in the courtyard of a detention centre in Libya. (file)

© UNICEF/Alessio Romenzi
Migrants sit in the courtyard of a detention centre in Libya. (file)

Child victims

Over the weekend, UN Children’s Fund UNICEF in Libya reported that two children have been killed and another injured by explosive remnants of war.

The victims – who included two brothers – were six, seven and 16 years old and from Benghazi and Sirte.

Last year alone at least 26 children in Libya were killed or injured by explosive remnants of war, UNICEF said in a statement.

“UNICEF calls on all parties to spare no effort to clear Libya of land mines and unexploded ordnances and support children and families affected. Every child in Libya across the country has the right to live in a safe and a protective environment.”

UN’s Bachelet hails ‘millions of voices’ tackling racial discrimination

In paying tributed to those who “relentlessly – and courageously – fight racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance,” she outlined to the Human Rights Council that progress was being made.

Powerful global movements against racism are shifting the status quo”, the UN right chief said, pointing to the “worldwide protests against racism and racial discrimination” prompted by the murder of George Floyd in 2020, as a “testimony to the power of people and solidarity.”

More work needed

In confronting the immense racism and discrimination that deeply permeate social structures and institutions, she noted that brave defenders are often met with “xenophobia and hate speech…[and] countless obstacles”.

Moreover, their skin colour, ethnic affiliation, religious beliefs, or birthplace endanger their own lives, the senior UN official continued.

While welcoming the “considerable efforts” of rights defenders and encouraged by their progress, she acknowledged that millions continue to be threatened by racism.

“Africans and people of African descent, Asians and people of Asian descent, indigenous peoples, migrants, and national, ethnic and linguistic minorities, continue to be confronted by racism, racial discrimination, inequality and exclusion.

“This can often take the form of Islamophobia, antisemitism, religious discrimination and intolerance, affecting Muslim, Arab, Jewish and other communities around the world”.

Dangerous narratives

Meanwhile, harmful narratives continue to thrive against migrants and refugees, evoking fear and racial superiority while fuelling racial discrimination, hatred and violence.

“This hatred is often fed by political discourse, or by the media”, the High Commissioner explained, saying that “toxic narratives destroy our social fabric…[and] destabilize our common values.”

She said that in times of peace as well as in conflict, authorities, politicians and the private sector bear “special responsibility” not to incite hatred, discrimination and violence, including in online.

“All manifestations of racism must be immediately addressed and stopped”.

Pick up the pace

“We are moving too slowly,” Ms. Bachelet told the meeting. “It is vital – and urgent – that we unite to accelerate the pace in the fight against racism and racial discrimination”.

Noting that the Durban PoA remains “more relevant than ever” in this fight, she underscored that States also need to honour their obligations and use international instruments to devise laws and policies that speak to racism and racial discrimination.

“The newly established Permanent Forum of People of African Descent will soon start operating and advise this Council on matters related to people of African descent,” the High Commissioner said.

It will also contribute to the drawing up of a UN declaration on promoting, protecting and fully respecting the human rights of people of African descent.

She said that her office, OHCHR’s, Four-point Agenda Towards Transformative Change for Racial Justice and Equality also provides a “number of important recommendations and a clear path for action.”

A protest in New York City against racism and police violence, following the death of George Floyd (file photo).

UN Photo/Evan Schneider
A protest in New York City against racism and police violence, following the death of George Floyd (file photo).

Deliver reparatory justice

The UN rights chief pushed for States to listen to those being discriminated against, stand up against racism in all its forms, and act on their concerns.

“This cannot be a purely tokenistic effort,” she said, describing as a “fundamental step” that activists and communities have meaningful, effective participation and representation “at all levels of decision-making” in the fight against racial discrimination.

Furthermore, she continued, States and societies must address the legacy and consequences of racism and exclusion, including colonial exploitation, enslavement and the trade in enslaved Africans.

It is time to deliver reparatory justice – UN rights chief

“These crimes affected generations of women, men and children, stripping them of their humanity,” Ms. Bachelet said, adding that “it is time to deliver reparatory justice”.

Strength of diversity

Only by embracing our differences can progress towards real change be made.

“The International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination is observed to remind us of the horrors which racial discrimination can cause,” she told the participants.

Observing that “collective action is powerful action,” she urged everyone to stand in solidarity with all victims.       

Together, let’s raise our voice and stand up against racism,” the High Commissioner concluded. “Never again”.

Farmers in northern Haiti dig for resilience

A large majority of the mainly rural population in the north of the country are facing a hunger crisis according to the latest Integrated Food Security Classification Phase or IPC report IPC which provides an overview of the severity and magnitude of food insecurity and malnutrition.

The Haitian Government, the World Food Programme (WFP) and other partners, have been supporting farmers in the region as they recover from a cycle of droughts and floods. Many have received payments for working on projects that have built resilience in their communities. Like farmers around the world, they are fiercely proud of their way of life and the crops they grow and are keen to provide a future for their families. Here are three of their stories.

Mariette Samson: ‘I lost all my beans’

Mariette Samson lost her crops in a flood in her village in northern Haiti in January 2022.

© WFP Haiti/Theresa Piorr
Mariette Samson lost her crops in a flood in her village in northern Haiti in January 2022.

 

“When our land floods, we lose all our crops. In January, I lost all my beans as well as maize, bananas, potatoes, yams, and pumpkin. This land feeds a family of ten, but we have no stocks of food. I have been working on a neighbour’s land so I can share some of that produce. Today, it is only my three grandchildren who have eaten; I gave them coffee and bread and now I am preparing some beans for the whole family which will be our one meal of the day.

I have planted for the next season and so we will have food again later in the year, but until then we will go hungry.

I have also contributed my work to the community here in Dubuisson between July and September last year to build some structures which will make future flooding less severe, and that money has helped me a lot.

Marc Magloire shows his latest crop of sweet manioc.

© WFP Haiti/Theresa Piorr
Marc Magloire shows his latest crop of sweet manioc.

Marc Magloire: “I eat beetroot on Sundays”

 

“The land in Limonade is fertile and we receive lots of rain, but we have always found it difficult to consistently water our crops. We worked with WFP to dig irrigation channels across the land of our association of 200 farmers and we can now pump water to grow a wide range of new crops, including aubergine, cabbage, spinach, spring onion and beetroot. I can now eat beetroot salad again on Sundays, a local custom that I enjoy.

Before the irrigation, during a drought we would eat only one meal a day, but now we can eat three times a day as well as sell food to pay for the needs of our families.

I am proud to be a farmer, this is my life; it is a good life. My children will carry on the farming tradition which is strong in this region.

Elie Devil stands in front of the mango tree he saved.

© WFP Haiti/Theresa Piorr
Elie Devil stands in front of the mango tree he saved.

Elie Devil: “I saved a mango tree from being cut down”

“My neighbour wanted to cut down an ancient mango tree to make charcoal, but I prevented him from doing this as I know that deforestation leads to the erosion of the soil which harms all people and especially farmers in Pilette where I live.

I learnt about the importance of reforestation to protect the soil and prevent flooding as part of the WFP project and I am keen to see more mango, avocado, cacao and coffee trees planted. These will protect our environment and provide us with nutritious food. As a community, we worked together to build flood protection measures in the ravines which drain into the river. These prevented sediment and soil from running off the hillsides, but we need to do a lot more as recent heavy rains still caused damage in the valley.

The weather is changing in this region; the rain is less and more unreliable, so many people like my neighbour want to cut trees to make charcoal so they can survive. In the past, the rain was more consistent and so there was more to eat, and we rarely lost our crops to flooding, so people didn’t need to make charcoal. My neighbour no longer talks to me, but I don’t care because I saved that mango tree.”

Entrepreneurship, investment key to achieving SDGs and resilient post-pandemic recovery

Held under the aegis of Dubai Exhibition Centre at Dubai Expo 2020, it is the 4th edition of the bi-annual World Entrepreneurs Investment Forum (WEIF 2022), which is co-sponsored by the UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)/Investment and Technology Promotion Offices (Bahrain).

“The Dubai Expo 2020 is all about connectivity and connecting brains,” said Dr. Hashim Hussein, Executive Director, WEIF.

“We’ll see, in the coming three days, connecting brains between entrepreneurs and experts, from more than one hundred countries all over the world, experts in access to finance, experts in trade and skill development, experts in research, experts and scholars from universities, financial institutions, chambers and of course the NGOs and entrepreneurs,” noted Mr. Hussein, who is also the head of Investment and Technology Promotion Offices at UNIDO.

Over the next three days, more than 1,000 business leaders, government officials, academics and entrepreneurs will be discussing the ways to strengthen global partnerships, entrepreneurship, innovation and investment opportunities for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

This year WEIF’s theme is Achieving the SDGs through Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Investment Post COVID 19, which is closely aligned with the theme of the AIM: “Investments in Sustainable Innovation for a Thriving Future.”

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

Integration in a post-COVID world 

The forum noted that COVID-19 has severely affected the functioning of Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) and entrepreneurs across the globe. For this reason, there is an urgent need for governments and the private sector to swiftly adapt to the changing market conditions that take digital transformations into account.

With the pandemic creating unprecedented disruptions to global economies and labour markets all over the world, supply chains grounding to a halt, and lockdowns resulting in the forced closure of many businesses, MSMEs were the most heavily impacted.

UAE’s Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Dr. Ahmed Belhoul told the forum that UAE invested heavily in the healthcare system over the last two years that not only enabled the SMEs to operate, but it also helped to drive tourism in the country.

“Ease of doing business is fundamental for the large part of the SMEs entrepreneurs. Without the confidence and support of the governments, they will not be able to survive,” he said.

“We have learnt quickly that this is far more important than direct financial support. I have had regular meetings with the entrepreneurs, and I constantly hear them asking me, not for funding, not for finance, but for access to markets and access to big multi-national companies.”

Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), touched on the role that small, medium and emerging enterprises play in achieving sustainable development goals.

He said that the UAE gives us hope and confidence in a recovery from the “health and economic pandemics” that the world is going through these days, noting that these pandemics remind us of the “lean days” that the world went through during the years 2007-2008, as a result of the global economic crisis.

Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin touched on the regional situation with regard to the Arab economy as a whole, praising the Arab countries, especially the Gulf states, which he said had “taken the reasons for science and increased investments in education, health care, the technological revolution, as well as their interest in issues of sustainability and climate change.”

He added that these investments gave it the opportunity to persevere, grow and develop, expressing his hope that all Arab countries would follow this example and invest in these areas.

SDG wheel at the Opportunity Pavilon, Dubai Expo 2020

Conor Lennon/ UN News
SDG wheel at the Opportunity Pavilon, Dubai Expo 2020

Digital transformation

The world also witnessed the accelerated technological transformation that played a crucial role during COVID-19. As the world transforms, entrepreneurs seek new innovative modes of finance to ensure their resilience and grow sustainably further. Establishing regional Incubators/accelerators networks will go a long way in ensuring connectivity and FDIs for the Arab world.

In a pre-recorded statement, Dr. Bernardo Calzadilla-Sarmiento, Managing Director of the Directorate of Digitilization, Technology and Agri-Business, UNIDO, congratulated the partnership between WEIF and this year’s Annual Investment Meeting (AIM).

That gathering, he said, would serve as an excellent opportunity to address the fundamental challenges that nations are being confronted with “in their journeys to achieve the SDGs, development and to discuss investment trends and strategies that can be utilized to maximize the potential of youth enterprises ecosystems innovators and consequently the food economic empowerment, investment diversification and digital transformation.”

A women's delegation participating in WEIF 2022 organized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), at the Dubai Expo.

ITPO-UNIDO
A women’s delegation participating in WEIF 2022 organized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), at the Dubai Expo.

Role of women entrepreneurs

Speaking on the sidelines of the Forum, Reem Badran, a former Member of Parliament from Jordan, noted that the current pandemic had posed a big challenge to achieving the SDGs, as it had exacerbated challenges faced by women in the Arab region and around the world. However, she believed that the pandemic had also given more room for innovation, for entrepreneurship and a holistic approach.

“Men, in the classical world, have better network services and activities than women. In terms of technical opportunities and exposure, men definitely get more,” she noted, “and that’s why we have brought more women in this conference [so they can access] the networks that they need. And I believe that in a few years’ time these women will excel in their countries because of the networking support.”

Focus on sustainability

The opening session was followed by a session on Inclusive Sustainable Finance, which deliberated new innovative modes of finance to ensure resilience and sustainable growth.

Organized by UNIDO, the Government of UAE and other partners, the forum is expected to build and foster partnerships and share best practices in entrepreneurship and innovation.

Moving away from coal ‘will not be easy’ but it is essential for our common future, UN deputy chief says

“Moving away from coal and fossil fuels in a region that accounts for 75 per cent of global coal-fired generation capacity will not be easy. But it is essential for our common future, and it is financially and technologically possible,” Amina Mohammed said.

She also highlighted the need for greater investments in adaptation, and urgent action to build the capacity of developing countries to adapt and build resilience to the impacts of climate change.

“The latest IPCC [Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] report laid out an atlas of human suffering – particularly across the Asia-Pacific region, where the very existence of entire nations is threatened by rising sea-levels and where we will see vulnerabilities grow with increased flooding, heat waves, drought and extreme weather events,” Ms. Mohammed added.

The deputy UN chief was addressing the ninth Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development (APFSD), in Bangkok, where governments and key stakeholders from the private sector, youth and civil society representatives from across the region, met in person and online, against the backdrop of faltering progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Forum runs through 31 March.

Over the next four days, Forum participants will undertake an in-depth review of the region’s progress on Sustainable Development Goals 4 (Quality education), 5 (Gender equality), 14 (Life below water), 15 (Life on land) and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). The outcome of the regional Forum will feed into the global High-Level Political Forum in July.

Asia-Pacific ‘fast losing ground’ on sustainable development

Estimates suggest that regional GDP growth could slow down and inflation could rise, primarily due to soaring oil and commodity prices, supply-chain disruptions, and fiscal constraints. Debt burden is also feared to rise for emerging and developing countries.

According to the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the convener of APFSD, the region is “fast losing ground” on its ability to achieve the development goals by 2030 on the black of the COVID-19 pandemic and complex crisis.

Asia-Pacific’s progress on quality education, gender equality, life below water, life on land, and partnerships, the five SDGs under review at the meeting, “has been limited or even stagnated in some cases”, said Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Executive Secretary of ESCAP.

“Regrettably, region has even regressed on others, including those on sustainable consumption and production, and climate action,” she added, calling on governments to put policies into action by aligning national recovery strategies with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The head of ESCAP also called for strengthening public and private finance for inclusive and sustainable development, and putting people and planet at the centre.

Karl Kendrick Chua, Secretary of National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), who was elected as Chair of the ninth APFSD, added that the unique experiences of countries in Asia and the Pacific, “as well as our shared struggles to rise above the challenges posed by the pandemic, are replete with lessons and best practices we can all draw from as we strive to shape a better region in the face of a new reality.”

Seventy-fifth anniversary of ESCAP

Monday also marked the seventy-fifth anniversary of ESCAP, the UN’s development arm in Asia and the Pacific.

The Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East, as ESCAP was then called, was established in 1947 in Shanghai, China, as a forum for regional collaboration to help countries focus on economic development and reconstruction in the aftermath of World War II.

In 1976, the Commission changed its name to ESCAP, reflecting its expanded membership and scope of work and moved to its current headquarters in Bangkok. Since its establishment, ESCAP has formed institutions key to the continued growth of the region, including the Asian Development Bank, the Asian Highway Network, and the Trans Asian Railway Network, which for instance covers over 117,500 kilometres of railway lines and over two dozen countries.

Marking the occasion, Ms. Alisjahbana highlighted that ESCAP has been the most inclusive platform to promote dialogue and foster joint regional action in Asia and the Pacific.

“Let us recommit to this mission. I count on your continued commitment, support and leadership,” she said.

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