Category: Culture and Education

Named after the flowers civilians stuffed in the muzzles of the soldiers’ guns, the revolution put Portugal on the path to democracy and led to the independence of its six remaining colonies, stretching from Africa to the Pacific, with ripple effects in Brazil – independent since 1822, but under military rule at the time.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres, a former Portuguese Prime Minister, argues that from a historical perspective, the uprising “should have occurred decades earlier.”

Reflection and analysis

Ahead of the 50^th anniversary of the revolution, which is also known as 25 April, Mr. Guterres and UN Ambassadors from Portuguese-speaking countries sat down to reflect on its significance and implications today. 

Participating in the debate were the Permanent Representatives of Angola, Brazil, Cabo Verde, Mozambique, Portugal and Timor-Leste. Their countries are all members of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), established roughly a decade after the revolution. Other members include Guinea-Bissau and the island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe.

UN News’s Portuguese team organized the high-level discussion, moderated by journalists Marta Moreira from Portugal and Felippe Coaglio from Brazil. 

UN Photo/Mark Garten

The debate will be broadcast by media outlets throughout the Lusophone world. Globally, roughly 250 million people speak Portuguese.

‘On the right side of history’

Having experienced the events of the Carnation Revolution firsthand, Mr. Guterres declared that “being on the side of freedom against oppression” means being on the right side of history.

“It is clear that we are on the right side of history, freeing a country from dictatorship, and we are on the right side of history re-establishing justice in international relations after a colonial past that is unacceptable,” he said.

The UN chief declared that 25 April would not have occurred “without the struggle of the African liberation movements”. For him, “the two things are interconnected and that is why there is no cause-and-effect relationship”.

In this regard, Mr. Guterres noted that if there were any criticism of 25 April, it would be that “from a historical point of view, it should have happened decades earlier.”

Catalyst for independence 

The Permanent Representative of Angola, Francisco José da Cruz, stated that the Carnation Revolution was of great importance to Angolans as it created the dynamics that led to the country’s independence.

“Portugal’s desire to move forward in this process became clearer when the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kurt Waldheim, visited Portugal in August, and Portugal made it clear that this would be the path to follow and that the liberation movements would be the legitimate interlocutors in this process that would lead to independence,” he said.

Eleuterio Guevane/ ONU News

Brazilian Ambassador Sérgio Danese said 25 April had two main impacts on South America’s largest country. The first was to show that “there was hope” for a path towards democratic rule once again and the second was in diplomacy.

“We had a very strong contradiction in our foreign policy. We recognized the independence of all former French, British and Dutch colonies, but we remained tied to Portuguese colonialism, and the 25th of April and its immediate consequences promptly freed us from that yoke,” he recalled.

“We were the first country to recognize Angola. And then we were among the first to recognize each of the former Portuguese colonies,” he added.

A deep friendship

When asked what helped shape new relations between the Portuguese-speaking nations, the Ambassador of Cabo Verde, Tânia Romualdo, highlighted the relationship between their populations as the basis for the bond between the emerging States.

“This revolution made it possible not to begin, but to continue this deep friendship that united peoples,” she said. “There was a union there, a very strong friendship, that preceded the revolution itself which contributed to the revolution and which helped the decolonization process after 25 April to accelerate bilateral cooperation”.

Among the issues raised during the debate was how Portuguese-speaking countries have much in common, despite their different paths to democracy and nationhood.

Unity and fraternity

Ambassador Pedro Commissar of Mozambique highlighted how the Lusophone bloc is defined by ties of proximity and solidarity with the United Nations. Mozambique is currently the only Lusophone country on the 15-member UN Security Council, occupying one of the 10 seats allotted to non-permanent members.

“The CPLP is a totally different model from the Commonwealth or Francophonie model. It is a model of sovereign States but linked by a bond of deep fraternity. 25 April gave us that basis, that impulse so that today we have this affection that unites our countries,” he said.

UN Photo/Mark Garten

On this issue, the Ambassador of Portugal, Ana Paula Zacarias, pointed to ongoing efforts on the diplomatic front to amplify their common voice, in Portuguese, at the UN. She emphasized that some of their common positions are already being heard in the General Assembly and the Security Council.

“Being heard means working together – and working together in areas that have already been identified,” she said.  “Above all, we have a lot to do in political coordination, in coordinating security and defense issues which are currently fundamental. And everything that has to do with the fight against climate change.”

The Representative of Timor-Leste, Dionísio Babo Soares, spoke of reinforcement at an internal and external level to boost future action as a bloc in a world marked by complexities in politics and development.

“For Timor-Leste, the CPLP is an entry point to the world. Member countries are located in different parts of the world,” he said. Furthermore, efforts to reintroduce the Portuguese language in Timor-Leste are intensifiying. 

“We work together with Portugal in this sense, and we are committed to moving forward with this programme of having Portuguese as the official language of the United Nations”.

‘Symbol of peace’

Looking to the future, Mr. Guterres characterized the cooperative relations that exist today between Portuguese-speaking countries as a “symbol of peace” that should inspire the world.

The Secretary-General expressed hope that the bloc “can play a decisive role in re-establishing the trust that has unfortunately been lost in our world, and in re-establishing the conditions that can allow us not only more peace but at the same time fairer development, respect for human rights and overcoming the dramatic divisions that today weigh on us all as a threat to the future of humanity.”

Addressing a high-level education on education convened by the European Union (EU) in Brussels, Amina Mohammed paid tribute in particular to the children of Gaza, who have had no education for over six months, and where there have been direct hits on 212 schools.

“Today, the light for Gaza and the children of Gaza, is out. We need a commitment to try to light that candle again for the children and the people of Gaza. Education is hope. Education is the future,” she said.

Building momentum

This year will see a series of meetings that will build on the Transforming Education Summit convened by the UN in September 2022 in response to a global crisis in education, after more than 90 per cent of the world’s children lost access to the classroom during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In September this year, world leaders will gather to forge a new international consensus as part of the Summit of the Future. 

 Ms. Mohammed called for two specific outcomes on education at the Summit. 

“First, we need a clear recognition from world leaders of the urgent need to transform and invest in education as a global imperative,” she said.

“Second, we need major breakthroughs on issues that are critical for education, including reform of the international financial architecture, strengthened digital cooperation and a new agenda for peace.”

Education a human right

Without additional measures, an estimated 84 million children and young people will still be denied access to the classroom by 2030, and approximately 300 million students will lack the basic – and vital – numeracy and literacy skills.

“Education is a fundamental human right. Investing in education is the greatest investment we can make in our common future, in peace, and sustainable development, and particularly in gender equality,” Ms. Mohammed stressed.

Contemporary education systems across the world are beset by challenges, including access, equity, relevance and digital inequality – which could leave billions of people behind, she added.

“I know that we can make 2024 a turning point for education. Let’s get to it.”

Spotlight on violence against women

During her visit to Brussels, the Deputy Secretary-General also chaired the Governing Body meeting of the Spotlight Initiative, the world’s largest targeted effort to eliminate violence against women and girls.  

The UN initiative is in partnership with the (EU) and other stakeholders and responds to all forms of violence against women and girls. 

Its programmes across 30 countries and regions, focus on domestic and family violence, sexual and gender-based violence and rising rates of femicide, together with human trafficking. 

Since 2019, the initiative has resulted in more than 2.5 million women and girls accessing gender-based violence services, and two million men and boys have been educated on positive masculinity.

Students in the capital Port-au-Prince have missed hundreds of hours of class time over the past year and now, now, more than one million Haitians are facing emergency levels of acute food insecurity, according to a new UN-backed report.

As deadly threats to school security continue in Port-au-Prince, and northern parts of the Artibonite department, UN News examined the situation on the ground and how the UN is responding to the worsening educational crisis.

© UNOCHA/Giles Clarke

Tents for people who have fled their homes now occupy Gymnasium Vincent, a school and sports complex in downtown Port-au-Prince.

Massive school closures

By the end of January, a total of 900 schools had temporarily closed mainly in Port-au-Prince, depriving around 200,000 children of their right to education, according to UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

Many other schools abruptly shut in Port-au-Prince in late February, when armed gangs coordinated breakouts in jails, freeing around 4,500 prisoners.

Gangs reportedly now control 80 to 90 per cent of the capital, and in the ensuing chaos, UN agencies on the ground reported cases of armed groups recruiting children, spiralling violence, looting and destruction.

“The Haitian population is caught in the crossfire,” said Catherine Russell, head of UNICEF. “Spaces for children have been transformed into battlegrounds. Each passing day brings new deprivations and horrors to the people of Haiti.”

Basic security is urgently needed for the lifesaving services and for aid workers to reach those in desperate need, she said, calling for the protection of schools, hospitals and other critical infrastructure children rely on and for safeguarding humanitarian spaces.

© UNOCHA/Giles Clarke

A children’s playground structure becomes a shelter for people in the Tabarre area of Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Classrooms become home

As of late March, violence had displaced at least 362,000 people, with many trapped in the besieged capital and thousands finding temporary shelter in public buildings, including schools.

Each classroom turned into a temporary home for multiple families. Playgrounds became tented shelters. Gymnasiums were transformed into open dormitories for those seeking safety.

“Many schools are not accessible as violence is ramping up around them,” said UNICEF’s representative in Haiti, Bruno Maes. “Some are occupied by gangs, others by displaced people and still more have been looted or destroyed.”

On the afternoon of 25 March, heavily armed groups entered a downtown Port-au-Prince school and set fire to 23 classrooms. Aid agencies condemned the incident. 

In another incident in the Port-au-Prince neighbourhood of La Saline, 3,500 children were trapped in two schools as gangs fought around them. UNICEF engaged with the armed groups for four days before they could secure the safe release of the children.

UNICEF has urged all parties to safeguard students, educators, parents and educational infrastructure in line with the Safe Schools Declaration, a global political commitment endorsed by 119 countries, including Haiti, for better protection measures and support for continuing education during armed conflicts.

© UNICEF/Herold Joseph

Bruno Maes (centre), the UNICEF representative in Haiti, visits a school in Artibonite.

Terrorised and traumatised 

“The situation is desperate for children,” said UNICEF’s Mr. Maes. “Children are killed, wounded, raped, displaced and denied access to basic services, including school,” adding that they are “terrorised and traumatised”, some after witnessing burnt bodies on the streets.

Amid the very clear dangers, parents “still want to send their children to school”, he said. “Education is at the heart of every Haitian family; people put a very high value on it.” 

As gangs continue to expand their control of vital roads and ports, their grip is extending outside the capital and the threat to school safety is mounting.

Despite this, the majority of schools outside the troubled gang-controlled areas of Port-au-Prince and Artibonite are still functioning. Many have admitted children who have fled because of violence and insecurity, although some parents are unable to pay school fees due to increasing poverty.

© WFP/Jonathan Dumont

Children in Haiti eat a meal provided as part of WFP’s school feeding programme.

Multipronged response

UN agencies have been working together to provide lifesaving essentials, like food, water and shelter, to thousands of Haitians in need and helping to get children back to school using new approaches.

Efforts include an International Organization for Migration (IOM) initiative currently providing psychosocial support to students forced out of school by the violence, and the World Food Programme (WFP) supports hot meals for 250,000 children across the country.

Part of UNICEF’s work is assisting families affected by violence and displacement to reintegrate children into formal education. Where this is not feasible, the agency works with partners to establish alternative, safe and temporary learning environments.

© WFP/Pedro Rodrigues

Volunteers prepare school meals with locally-grown ingredients in Gonaives, in northwestern Haiti.

Redefining schools

The goal is to get children back to learning and into school meal programmes, according to a UNICEF report, published in French in late March.

If schools remain shuttered, distance learning can be deployed via radio, television and e-learning platforms. UNICEF is collaborating with the Ministry of Education to find a way to deliver this via Radio Télé Éducative (RTE) broadcasts on Haiti’s national radio station.

Other opportunities for engaging students during the crisis include boosting capacities at schools currently accommodating displaced pupils.

Learn more about what the UN is doing to help Haiti in our explainer here.

In a tradition that started when he served as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to shine a light on Muslim communities in distress, Mr. Guterres is slated to arrive in Cairo on Saturday, where he will reiterate his urgent calls for a humanitarian ceasefire and the cessation of violence, notably in Gaza and Sudan. His visit underscores the UN’s commitment to addressing pressing humanitarian concerns in conflict zones.

During his time in Egypt, the Secretary-General will journey to northern Sinai, a region deeply impacted by conflict. There, he will visit a hospital in El-Arish, demonstrating solidarity with those affected by the violence. Additionally, he will meet with UN humanitarian workers in Rafah on the Egyptian side, discussing strategies to alleviate the suffering of those caught in the midst of conflict.

UN video

UN Secretary-General António Guterres speaks with UN News about his annual Ramadan solidarity visits. (file)

Annual Ramadan solidarity trip

In a symbolic gesture of solidarity, Mr. Guterres will partake in a Ramadan iftar with refugees from Sudan, who have fled their homeland due to ongoing hostilities there.

He is expected to emphasize the importance of peace and stability, particularly during the sacred month of Ramadan, urging all parties to observe a cessation of hostilities.

Moreover, the Secretary-General will engage in discussions with Egyptian officials, furthering diplomatic efforts to address regional challenges and foster cooperation in conflict resolution.

Visits to UNRWA in Jordan

Following his engagements in Cairo, Mr. Guterres will proceed to Amman, Jordan, continuing his Ramadan solidarity trip. In Jordan, he will visit facilities of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, which provides essential services to the population, highlighting the UN’s commitment to supporting vulnerable communities amid crises.

During his time in Amman, the Secretary-General will share in a Ramadan iftar with Palestine refugees and UN staff, underscoring the importance of compassion and unity during times of adversity.

He is also scheduled to hold meetings with Jordanian officials, reinforcing collaborative efforts to address regional challenges and promote peace and stability.

As the world grapples with ongoing conflicts and humanitarian emergencies, Secretary-General Guterres’ Ramadan solidarity trip serves as a reminder of the UN’s unwavering commitment to upholding humanitarian principles and fostering peace in the most challenging of circumstances.

UN Photo/Mark Garten

UN Secretary-General António Guterres (left) meets a Palestinian patient at a hospital in El Arish in Egypt.

Meetings with Palestinian families

Early Saturday, the UN chief met with Palestinian civilians and their families at the General Hospital in El Arish, Egypt, saying he “was extremely moved by their stories, experiences and hardships they have endured”.

At the nearby Rafah border crossing with Gaza, he said Ramadan is a time for spreading the values of compassion, community and peace.

“It is monstrous that after so much suffering over so many months, Palestinians in Gaza are marking Ramadan with Israeli bombs still falling, bullets still flying artillery still pounding and humanitarian assistance still facing obstacle upon obstacle,” he said.

“Fasting with you on Ramadan, I am deeply troubled to know so many people in Gaza will not be able to have a proper iftar.”

Palestinians in Gaza – children, women, men – remain stuck in a non-stop nightmare, he said, with communities obliterated, homes demolished, entire families and generations wiped out and hunger and starvation stalking the population.

Aid delays are a ‘moral outrage’ 

“Here from this crossing, we see the heartbreak and heartlessness of it all,” he said, pointing to a long line of blocked relief trucks on one side of the gates and the “long shadow of starvation on the other”.

“That is more than tragic; moral outrage,” he said, adding that “any further onslaught will make everything worse” for Palestinian civilians, hostages and all people of the region.

Calls for hostage release and ceasefire now

All this demonstrates that it’s more than time for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and for “an ironclad commitment by Israel for total, unfettered access for humanitarian goods throughout Gaza”, he said, emphasizing that in the Ramadan spirit of compassion, it’s time for the immediate release of all hostages. 

He also urged all UN Member States to support the “lifesaving work led by the backbone of all Gaza relief operations, UNRWA”, the UN relief agency for Palestine refugees.

Pledging to continue working with Egypt to streamline the flow of aid, he had a message for Palestinians in Gaza: “you are not alone.”

© UNRWA

UN staff deliver humanitarian supplies in the north of the Gaza Strip.

‘It’s time to truly flood Gaza with aid’

“People around the world are outraged by the horrors we are all witnessing in real time,” he said. “I carry the voices of the vast majority of the world who have seen enough, who have had enough and who still believe that human dignity and decency must define us as a global community.”

That is “our only hope”, he said. 

“It’s time to truly flood Gaza with lifesaving aid; the choice is clear: either surge or starvation,” he said. “Let’s choose the side of help – the side of hope – and the right side of history.”

“I will not give up,” he stated, “and all of us must not give up in doing all we can for our common humanity to prevail.”

UN rumour has it that the unofficial tradition began almost 40 years ago, when a delegate from the United Kingdom requested the floor to make a point of order at the end of an intense months-long session.

The now annual tradition is flush with ribald diplomatic jocularity and acerbic wit.

Watch the UK’s “poem lecture” from 2013, recited at the committee’s final meeting of the 68th General Assembly session, here.

Dubbed the “poem lecture”, somewhat of a competition has emerged since then. 

After negotiating draft resolutions and discussing the world’s pressing humanitarian concerns, human rights violations and such critical topics as education for all and preserving cultural heritage from threats, the committee’s delegates welcome a type of conference room poetry slam.

Touching upon James Bond, LGBTI and martinis, the UK delegate’s poem lecture in 2021 garnered chuckles across the General Assembly Hall:

“As we approach the end of this session,

we are left with one thing: a very clear lesson

Mr. Bond, so you see, is expected to die,

but never quite does, and do you know why?

Because while negotiations may feel like a Casino Royale

while text and ideas can rapidly spoil,

despite this, like Bond, to a cause we are loyal

The Universal Declaration; it’s for that that we toil

So rather than live and let die, let’s live and let live, or let’s at least try.”

Over the years, Egypt joined in the annual tradition along with Syria and even Third Committee Chair Jóse Alfonso Blanco, from the Dominican Republic, took the floor in 2022 to recite a verse.

Watch Egypt’s representative deliver her own poem in 2023 below.

For more epic moments across the UN’s past, visit UN Video’s Stories from the UN Archive playlist here, cultivated from the UN Audiovisual Library’s 49,400 hours of video and 18,000 hours of audio recordings, and read our accompanying series here. Join us next Thursday for another dive into history.

The new resolution, tabled by Pakistan, calls for, among other things, concerted action to fight ongoing violence against Muslims and requests the UN Secretary-General to appoint a special envoy to combat Islamophobia.

The world body created the International Day through a resolution adopted following attacks on two mosques Christchurch, New Zealand, that left 51 people dead on this day in 2019.

Prior to adopting the new resolution, by a vote of 113 in favour to none against, with 44 abstentions, a divided Assembly rejected by a close margin two amendments proposed by a group of European nations.

The proposals would have replaced key language in the resolution, including calling for a focal point instead of a UN special envoy and removing references to the desecration of the Quran.

Online hate speech ‘fuelling real-life violence’

The UN chief on Friday said “divisive rhetoric and misrepresentation are stigmatising communities” and everyone must unite to combat intolerance, stereotypes and bias.

“Online hate speech is fuelling real-life violence,” Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement, emphasising that digital platforms must moderate hateful content and protect users from harassment.

Institutional discrimination and other barriers are violating the human rights and dignity of Muslims, and much of this disturbing trend is part of a wider pattern of attacks against religious groups and vulnerable populations, also including Jewish people, minority Christian communities and others, he added.

“We must confront and root out bigotry in all its forms,” he declared. “Leaders must condemn inflammatory discourse and safeguard religious freedom. “Together, let us commit to promoting mutual respect and understanding, foster social cohesion and build peaceful, just and inclusive societies for all.”

‘Faith literacy’ must combat religion-based hate

In Geneva, Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said all forms of religious hatred and intolerance are unacceptable.

“The message today is perhaps more urgent than ever: we are all well past the hour to restore peace, tolerance and respect,” he said. “We know that fear breeds hate, ignorance and distrust of the other.”

“Islamophobia has stolen lives”, dehumanising entire communities and sparking “torrents of hate speech, magnified by social media”, he said, citing multiple reports on “huge spikes” in Islamophobic incidents amid the current conflict in the Middle East, with a nearly 600 per cent increase in some countries in North America and Europe.

States must record such incidents and urgently step up their efforts to combat intolerance against people based on religion or belief using the many available tools at their disposal, including the OHCHR guide to developing anti-discrimination legislation.

“Faith literacy – in other words, knowledge and understanding about the values of each religion and belief – is also crucial,” Mr. Türk said, urging States to include it as part of comprehensive training initiatives on combating religious hatred for law enforcement officers and the judiciary, faith-based actors, teachers and media professionals.

Anti-Muslim hate spikes

Also in Geneva, Nassima Baghli, Permanent Observer of the OIC, hosted a commemorative event on Friday, saying that “Islamophobia is on the rise following the Israeli aggression on Gaza”.

Citing recent anti-Muslim incidents, she pointed to cases several months ago of the desecration of the Quran.

“Discrimination and stereotypes based on religion or belief are doing a lot of harm as they dehumanise people and prevent them from enjoying their rights,” Ms. Baghli said.

“We need to combat these scourges with great resolve with all the tools at our disposal,” she said. “Our common goal is to promote mutual understanding and respect for all.”

© UNRWA

As millions around the world start observing the holy month of Ramadan, sadly in Gaza and across the region, many will mark this month facing conflict, displacement and fear.

UN rights experts: Nobody should fear having a religion

UN independent rights experts raised a range of concerns in a statement issued on Friday, stressing that “States and faith-based actors have human rights responsibilities, and they have to step in to counter such violations” in line with the Rabat Plan of Action and the UN Faith for Rights framework and the #Faith4Rights toolkit to encourage respect for religious diversity.

“Across the world, we have witnessed attacks on mosques, cultural centres, schools and even private property belonging to Muslims,” said the Human Rights Council-appointment experts, who are not UN staff and do not receive a salary.

“During this holy month of Ramadan, we are appalled at the continued refusal by Israel to allow adequate humanitarian assistance and food aid to be provided to the mainly Muslim civilian population in Gaza despite the widespread hunger and signs of severe malnutrition,” the experts said, also raising serious concerns about undue restrictions imposed on access to the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem and the destruction of a significant number of places of worship in Gaza.

“Nobody should suffer fear for having or manifesting their religion or belief,” they said. “Everyone should feel safe and benefit from the equal protection of their human rights, which must be guaranteed by all States.”

At Beabo Primary School in Ambovombe in the south of Madagascar, teams of students are in competition to cook the tastiest and most nutritional meal using locally available products which hopefully will encourage their parents and others to change to healthier diets.

Fifteen-year-old Marie-Eliane is one of six junior chefs who have produced an impressive three-course menu bursting with varied flavours.

UN News/Daniel Dickinson

School children prepare a three-course meal as part of the Tsikonina competition.

Poached green papaya with boiled organic eggs topped with watercress in an orange and passion fruit dressing is served up as a starter. For the main dish, a manioc and fish stew with nutritionally-rich moringa and anamalaho leaves and for dessert, a fruit salad of cactus prickly pear, watermelon, orange juice and banana.

Her team is cooking off against six others vying to be named the best in a culinary competition known as Tsikonina, a type of Malagasy tea-party game for children.

“I have enjoyed thinking of new recipes especially when they taste so good,” she said. “I hope to persuade my parents to eat this type of food.”

The idea behind Tsikonina, which was set up by the UN in Madagascar, is to educate young people about the preparation of nutritious food and provide them and their families with the knowledge about how to eat healthily keeping within a tight budget and using local products readily available in the market.

“All the students have cooked very imaginative and delicious food,” said Emma Razanaparany the school principal. “As young people, they are in a position to influence their parents and change the way that future generations eat.”

UN News/Daniel Dickinson

Students are encouraged to prepare food with produce readily available at local markets.

Drought and malnutrition

Southern Madagascar is home to some of the country’s poorest communities in a region which is experiencing the destructive impact of climate change, including recurrent drought.

As their families struggle to grow enough nutritious food, almost half a million children under the age of five are suffering from acute malnutrition, according to the UN-backed integrated food security phase (IPC) classification.

UN agencies and partners have responded with humanitarian relief aid, but are also looking beyond the cycle of immediate crises at how to ensure the longer-term sustainable development of communities.

UN News/Daniel Dickinson

Emma Razanaparany is the principal of Beabo Primary School in Ambovombe.

Joint approach to tackling challenges

Competitions like Tsikonina are one small part of that effort, which is bringing together multiple UN agencies in what the UN is calling convergence zones to develop and deliver activities.

These activities draw on the expertise of individual agencies to look at the underlying vulnerabilities facing communities and the best way to address them.

Beabo Primary School is a microcosm of that collaborative approach. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have both worked with local women-led farming cooperatives to support the production of food which is used by the World Food Programme (WFP) as part of its home-grown food school feeding initiative.

Providing a nutritious meal to children at school not only improves their health and encourages them to stay in school, it also boosts the local economy by providing a market for the produce of local farmers.

Better access to clean water and sanitation

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has helped to develop garden wells to provide more consistent access to water for the school as well as building a sanitation block and providing training to teachers and pupils on sanitation issues and resilience to climate change. It has also provided washing kits and pupil education packs.

“The lack of rain in this region brings many problems and worsens the living situation for people here,” said UNICEF’s Melanie Zafindrakemba, a nutrition specialist. “Providing access to clean water contributes to better hygiene and is safer for cooking and drinking and helps communities get through humanitarian crises.”

In addition to providing hot meals to vulnerable children, WFP has also trained parents and teachers to manage the school-feeding programme.

UN News/Daniel Dickinson

A boy studies at the blackboard in one of the new classrooms at Beabo Primary School.

Foundations for long-term development

Meanwhile, the UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO) has significantly improved the school’s physical infrastructure by supporting the building of two classrooms, a school kitchen as well as providing desks and tables for teachers and pupils. As part of the process, it trained and employed local workers to carry out the construction project, further boosting the local economy.

“The synergy created by UN agencies working together in this school has been powerful,” said WFP’s Fidèle Andrianantenaina, who is based in Ambovombe. “There is a convergence of problems in this region, including food insecurity, poverty, lack of access to health and social services and few job opportunities, so a project like this can support long-term stability and development,” he added.

Finding the synergy or complementarity between UN agencies is an important first step, the benefits of which are evident in this one UN-supported school. It’s now hoped that additional funding can be found to expand the approach not just to other schools across the region, but to other communities in need.

United Nations

SDG 2

SDG 2: END FOOD INSECURITY

 

• End hunger and malnutrition and ensure access to safe, nutritious and sufficient food year-round for all
• Double small-scale food producers’ agricultural productivity and income
• Ensure sustainable food production systems and implement agricultural practices that increase productivity/production and strengthen capacity for adaptation to climate change and disasters
• Correct and prevent trade restrictions in world agricultural markets

 

Globally, one in three people struggles with moderate to severe food insecurity.