The COVID-19 pandemic represents a severe threat to city services, global health, and is radically transforming the societies in which we live. Physical distancing measures adopted around Latin America and the world directly impact the life and well-being of almost 4.1 billion people living in cities. The populations considered at high risk include persons with disabilities and older persons.

UN report finds youth social entrepreneurship can create jobs and help the most underserved communities

Tearing down barriers that prevent more young people from becoming successful social entrepreneurs will contribute to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals and tackling the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19, according to a new report released today by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

No country is immune from it. Greenhouse gas emissions are more than 50 percent higher than it was in 1990, and global warming is causing long-lasting changes to our climate system which threatens irreversible consequences if we do not act. Cooperatives for Climate Action was chosen as this year’s theme to address this, and to support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 on Climate Action.

COVID-19 is exposing and deepening the inequalities, discrimination and ageism that older persons and persons with disabilities experience every day.

We need inclusive programmes and policies that address the rights of people of all ages to ensure we leave no one behind.

This official side event to the 2020 High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development will look at the COVID 19 experience to identify learnings and opportunities to build a more age and disability inclusive world, and accelerate action to achieve the SDGs for all.

The Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD) of UN DESA organized an online webinar on “Income Insecurity, Poverty Dynamics and COVID-19” on 16 June from 11:30am to 12:30pm (EDT). The event featured ongoing research by Dr. Anirudh Krishna, Duke University, on income dynamics and career ladders.

The Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD) of the UN Department of Economic and Social affairs (UN DESA) is organizing an Expert Group Meeting (EGM) on “Families in Development” to be held online 16-18 June 2020. The EGM is to address the following issues:

In April 2020, the United Nations Voluntary Funds on Disability provided grants on catalytic and innovative activities that support the implementation of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN CRPD) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In 2019 call for proposals, 125 applications were received from 41 countries. After a rigorous selection process, UNDESA, within the mandate of the General Assembly in its resolution 63/150, awarded grants to the following projects in Argentina, Lesotho and Uganda.

The UN General Assembly designated 15 June as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (res. A/RES/66/127).  According to WHO estimates, 1 in 6 people aged over 60 suffers from abuse. That means nearly 141 million people globally. This number might be much higher as elder abuse is one of the most hidden and underreported violations.

The meeting of the high-level political forum on sustainable development in 2020 will be held from Tuesday, 7 July, to Thursday, 16 July 2020, under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council. This will include the three-day ministerial meeting of the forum from Tuesday, 14 July, to Thursday, 16 July 2020. 

The Stakeholder Group on Ageing (SGA) Africa, in collaboration with UN DESA and other partners, held a regional webinar on the impact of COVID-19 in the context of the rights of older persons, on 5 June 2020. The purpose of the webinar was to signal to government leaders and policy makers, the needs of vulnerable older persons in this crisis, and to identify ways in which attention to human rights of older people can better focus recovery efforts on achieving equitable and inclusive development.