UN in Action

Young women in South Africa are becoming infected with HIV at more than twice the rate of young men. We meet the young activist who is determined to use her own experience of living with HIV to change that trend.

The invaluable contributions of women to peace received a major international push twenty years ago, when the United Nations Security Council adopted a landmark resolution that boosted their impact on the geopolitical landscape.

Amir Tamang is a young artist who does not have the use of his arms and legs. He paints and writes poetry using his mouth. After the earthquake in Nepal in 2015, his house was unsafe and he had to live in a tent.

Kiribati risks becoming the first country to lose its land territory to climate change, as sea levels rise. Supported by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, Kiribati's people are working to protect their islands.

For decades, ecotourism had helped protect endangered species but COVID-19 and the subsequent closure of ecotourism sites has had an indelible impact on wildlife and the communities that protect it.

In Cameroon, one out of every three girls is married before the age of 18. Married at 14 against her will, Habiba, now 17 years old, is determined to help other girls stay in school and follow their dreams. (Video courtesy of UNICEF)

Non-state armed groups and droughts have displaced over 830,000 people in one year in Burkina Faso. Climate change, landscape degradation and slow economic development also exacerbate food insecurity and undernutrition in the country.

Cocaine production hit all-time highs in 2019, leading narco-traffickers to seek new points of transit from South America to Europe. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime supports the international response to drug trafficking and organized crime.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is working with partners to protect crops and livelihoods in East Africa, amid the region’s biggest locust outbreak in decades.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) supports the Lebanese Civil Defense’s (LCD) response to fire hazards in south Lebanon, which is prone to fire hazards during the dry summer season.