Tag Archives: communities

Pandemic accord can be a ‘gamechanger’ for marginalised communities, says youth advocate

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Mr. Hassan and his fellow Youth Councillors advise and actively engage with the WHO Director-General and the agency’s senior leadership, designing and expanding the agency’s programmes and strategies.

In an interview with UN News ahead of the 2025 World Health Assembly – the UN’s highest forum for global health – Mr. Hassan, who was born and raised in Texas, USA,  explains why he started iCure, a global non-profit organisation designed to ensure that all people receive access to preventative medical screening, and how the pandemic treaty could radically improve care for vulnerable communities.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Courtesy of Rehman Hassan

Rehman Hassan: 10 years ago, my grandfather passed away from heart disease. I saw how he was treated differently because of the way that he presented himself, as an immigrant and a person of colour. He was very knowledgeable, but he had limited literacy, and he wasn’t necessarily told what all his options were. I felt that the doctors tried to rush him into surgery and that they forced him to be anaesthetized because they believed he was moving around too much, when in fact he was just in pain and uncomfortable.

I’m convinced that he didn’t get the care that he deserved and that really resonated with me, because I wanted to make sure that no one else felt that way. I saw that, as a young person, my role could involve working at a community level, mobilising other young people to promote things like good diet or exercise, and advocate for those who need help.

That’s how iCure started, and it has blossomed into an international movement. We have hosted a youth fellowship programme with around 65 young people from all over the world, from Vietnam to Qatar to Puerto Rico, discussing the health issues they’re seeing and how to address them, as trusted members of their communities, to bridge the kinds of information gaps that are very common in many marginalized communities, especially amongst low income people and immigrants.

UN News: Tell me about your personal experience during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Rehman Hassan: The pandemic was, for many people across the world, a deeply difficult, scary, intense process. I was living with my grandparents who were immunocompromised, and I knew that they were at significant risk. Whilst we had a lot of vaccines in the US, there was a lot of pandemic disinformation and misinformation; presenting it as something that had a low mortality rate and that we could ignore.

In addition, we had a major winter storm in Texas that froze the state for almost two weeks. We didn’t have access to electricity, gas or water. Our house was flooded and ultimately was destroyed. This combination of the climate crisis and the pandemic meant that many people, especially in my community, were left behind and did not receive the resources that they needed.

Children in Mexico received food baskets during the COVID-19 pandemic (file, 2022)

Children in Mexico received food baskets during the COVID-19 pandemic (file, 2022)

UN News: The WHO says that the pandemic preparedness treaty, if and when it is adopted, will be a breakthrough for health equity and make a real difference on the ground. Do you agree?

Rehman Hassan: I definitely think it’s a game changer. I got involved with the treaty process through the WHO Youth Council, where I represent an organisation [ACT4FOOD, a global youth-led movement to transform food systems] that primarily focuses on access to food, the social determinants of health and how we can promote change at the community level.

The text of the treaty spells out the efforts that need to be taken at a community level, and each member state has an obligation to make sure that the most vulnerable get access to support or care, as part of their pandemic response plans.

There is a commitment to early detection: if we can detect pandemics early, then we can ensure that everyone has access to the care and resources they need.

UN News: It’s likely that there will be another pandemic in our lifetimes. Will we manage it better than the last one?

Rehman Hassan: We’re definitely seeing an acceleration of pandemics and extreme events that ultimately undermine equity.

I think that the World Health Assembly and the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body for the pandemic treaty have done an incredible job of understanding what went wrong during the COVID-19 pandemic, and previous pandemics, and then looking at how we can craft an instrument that will address those inequities or prevent them from happening in the first place.

If member states deliver a meaningful treaty, I think it would significantly improve and facilitate a much better pandemic response than what we saw during last time.

From border control to belonging: How host communities gain from empowering refugees

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In 2024, 122 million people were forcibly displaced — a number expected to rise in the coming years, according to Bob Rae, President of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), addressing a meeting on the pressing issue in New York on Thursday.

As population movements become much more complex due to wars disproportionately impacting civilians, climate disasters, hunger and poverty, 70 per cent of refugees live in low to middle-income countries.

Refugee rights

International responses to refugee flows are becoming increasingly politicised, especially as aid is decreasing.

Rather than focusing on addressing the root causes of such crises, the Global North has focused on border management and the control of refugee flows, “often at the expense of the rights of people on the move,” Filippo Grandi, Head of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) told the ECOSOC gathering.

According to Mr. Grandi, although border management is an important aspect of national government response to the refugee crisis, the emphasis should rather be on making refugees feel more integrated within host communities.

Inclusion of refugees translates to freedom of movement, access to basic services such as healthcare, education, work opportunities, and valid documentation that allows them to work and contribute.

Representatives from Colombia and Mauritania joined a meeting convened by Mr. Rae to talk about better ways to help refugees and the communities that host them, while also finding long-term solutions to the forced displacement crisis.

Both Colombia and Mauritania have welcomed thousands of refugees into their countries, and outlined the positive impact refugees have had on their countries.

Temporary Protection Status in Colombia

In 2021, Colombia adopted a Temporary Protection Status (TPS) programme for Venezuelan refugees.

Today, 2.5 million Venezuelans in Colombia have valid documentation, which provides them access to public services, legal employment, and education.

TPS has not only allowed them to regain dignity and security, but it has also helped Colombia regulate refugee flows.

Human rights at the fore in Mauritania

For over a decade, Mauritania has been hosting large numbers of refugees, most of them from neighbouring Mali.

Committed to upholding the human rights of both refugees and host communities, Mauritania recognises refugees as citizens, providing them with the right to education, healthcare, employment, and legal protection.

Mauritania is working to improve refugee livelihoods while simultaneously enhancing the capacity of host communities by emphasising the role refugees have in local development.

By investing in the resilience of host communities and social cohesion, Mauritania ensures both refugees and host communities live in dignity.

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Ukraine: Continued Russian assaults drive civilians from frontline communities

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“Attacks on frontline regions (are) increasing and it’s always civilians that are bearing the highest cost of the war,” said UNHCR Representative Karolina Lindholm Billing.

Since January, more than 3,500 newly displaced people have transited through a centre in Pavlohrad towards central Ukraine; in total, more than 200,000 people have been evacuated or displaced from frontline areas between August last year and the start of 2025.

Last to leave

Last month, more than 4,200 evacuees arrived at a transit centre in the northeastern city of Sumy where UNHCR and partners provide humanitarian support. These numbers are only a fraction of all those made homeless by the violence and mandatory evacuation orders issued by Kyiv in the face of ongoing Russian aggression.

The majority of those being moved are the elderly with low mobility or disabilities, families with few resources and children. In many cases, they stayed until the end because they didn’t want to leave everything they had behind, UNHCR said.

Cities and civilians targeted

On Thursday, UN aid agencies led condemnation of Russian missile-and-drone attack on Kyiv that killed 12 people and injured 84, one of a wave of attacks across the country that point to an intensification of the conflict since the start of the year – and growing humanitarian needs for refugees.

“Those deadly Russian attacks have intensified alarmingly since January,” said Ms. Billing, speaking to journalists in Geneva via videolink from Kyiv.

“More than 1,000 people have been directly affected as their homes have been damaged or completely destroyed. Civilian infrastructure were also hit in several other regions yesterday, including in Kharkiv, where I myself woke up around 2 am in the morning to the loud sound of explosions.”

According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, civilian casualties in Ukraine were 70 per cent higher in March this year compared to 12 months earlier.

Supporting lives and livelihoods

The war has left four million internally displaced since 24 February 2022 when Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine. Many of those uprooted have yet to find affordable housing and a new job – which is why support from humanitarian organizations is so crucial, the UNHCR official continued.

“One of the main things we deliver as part of the emergency response are emergency shelter materials that help people cover broken windows, roofs and doors,” Ms. Billing said.

Since 2022, UNHCR has supported around 450,000 people making repairs on their homes. The UN agency also provides psychological first aid and legal support to those who have lost their identity documents and emergency cash assistance to help people cover most basic needs.   

Funding impacts

But more support is needed to sustain a timely and predictable response to the many calls for assistance the agency receives from the affected people and the authorities.

Last year, US funding for UNHCR accounted for around 40 per cent of its overall contributions. For 2025, UNHCR has appealed for $803.5 million to address the emergency situation in Ukraine. Today, that appeal is just 25 per cent funded. During the winter period, the agency had to put some of its programmes partially on hold, impacting psychosocial support, emergency shelter material and cash assistance. 

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Climate change: How mountain communities are scaling new heights

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Investment in organic farming, sustainable textiles and eco-tourism is helping mountain communities in Central Asia adapt to global warming, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Thursday, urging greater support for regions often overlooked in climate discussions.

Mountain residents relying on family farming are among the world’s poorest people, said the agency’s Director-General Qu Dongyu.

Speaking at the International Conference of the Global Mountain Dialogue for Sustainable Development in Bishkek, the FAO chief explained that many alpine people struggle with food insecurity, as climate change, environmental degradation and unsustainable use of resources make it harder to access clean water, food and fertile soils.

Mountain communities, the stewards of mountain resources, have great potential for climate-resilient development.

Kyrgyzstan, a Central Asian nation that is home to some of the world’s most diverse and significant mountain ecosystems, is gearing up to host a Global Mountain Summit in 2027.

More resilient systems

“Mountain communities, the stewards of mountain resources, have great potential for climate-resilient development by transforming to more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable agrifood systems,” Mr. Qu said, insisting that the protection of mountain ecosystems is a global responsibility.

More than two billion people globally rely on freshwater from glaciers – a fragile supply endangered by rising temperatures and melting snowcaps, he said.  

There has been some progress – but mountain regions remain strained and increasingly impacted by human-induced climate change, biodiversity loss, soil erosion and land degradation.  

Boosting impact

FAO has worked in Kyrgyzstan since 2009 to help the country withstand mounting pressure on its ecosystems. The aims include achieving sustainable food security and supporting sustainable land and forest management.

The UN General Assembly in late 2022 adopted the Five Years of Action for the Development of Mountain Regions to “enhance the awareness of the international community of the problems of mountain countries” and strengthen global efforts to address the challenges these regions face. The plan will extend until 2027.