Tag Archives: workers

Can workers compete with machines and stay relevant in the AI era?

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Whether you are a “doomer” or a “boomer” on the subject, it’s impossible to ignore AI, which is seeping into every corner of our personal and professional lives.

The UN has been banging the drum for a “people-first” approach to the subject for years now.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned the Security Council back in 2024 that the fate of humanity “must never be left to the ‘black box’ of an algorithm,” and that people must always retain oversight and control over AI decision-making to ensure that human rights are upheld.

Since then, the UN System has been consolidating work on the ethical global governance of AI, building on the guidelines and recommendations contained in the landmark Global Digital Compact.

Here is a selection of the key ideas.

1. Education is key

The UN consistently highlights education as central to ensuring people remain relevant in an AI-enabled future. This is not just about plugging AI tools into the education system but making sure that students and educators are “AI-literate.”

“The global education system will need 44 million teachers by 2030,” says Shafika Isaacs, head of technology and AI in education at UNESCO (the UN agency for education, science and culture). “We believe that it is a mistake to argue that we need to invest more in AI technologies rather than investing in teachers. AI can manage data transfer, but it cannot manage human development, Education is fundamentally a social, human and cultural experience and not a technical download.”

2. Embrace the change

Many people across the world are concerned about losing their jobs in the AI era. The World Economic Forum NGO estimated in 2025 that some 41 per cent of employers were planning on cutting their workforce due to AI.

At the same time, new roles matching human strengths with machine capabilities are likely to emerge, because although machines are great at recognizing patterns and repetitive tasks – creativity, judgment, ethical reasoning, and complex interpersonal interactions require a human touch.

Working with global research partners, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has predicted that while one in four jobs is likely to be transformed by AI, this doesn’t necessarily mean net job losses. 

However, the way that work is performed is likely to significantly change, putting the onus on workers to be highly adaptable, and open to the idea of constantly learning new skills and training throughout their working lives.

© Unsplash/Aidin Geranrekab

Artificial Intelligence is currently revolutionising the smartphone industry.

3. Make AI available for all

A handful of tech giants are driving research into AI and dominating the creation of new tools. The UN is concerned that, unless access to the technology is widened, inequality between countries and within societies will grow.

Strategies developed by the UN emphasise that educational, economic, and governance policies should ensure that AI benefits are broadly shared, not confined to the privileged or technologically advanced.

4. Put human rights first

The UN has repeatedly stressed that AI development must respect human rights, dignity and inclusiveness, and warned that unchecked automation will have far reaching social consequences. 

In 2021, after extensive consultations with global experts, UNESCO released Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, which argues that human rights can’t be optional – they have to be the binding baseline of sustainable AI systems. 

The document argues that tools that threaten dignity, equality or freedom should be restricted or banned, and that governments must actively regulate and enforce these standards. 

5. The whole world needs to agree on the way forward

This is not an issue that an individual government, private sector, or civil society can navigate alone, and the UN is calling for far greater international cooperation to manage the risks and opportunities of AI.

This could take the form of dialogues on governance and ethics, UN-supported platforms for coordination, and partnerships between the public and private sectors to fund education and workforce development.

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Afghanistan: Lifesaving services cut as Taliban bars women aid workers

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“All of us at the United Nations are suffering from a reinforcement of the ban on females working with us…We are simply unable to operate without females,” said Arafat Jamal, UN refugee agency (UNHCR) Representative to Afghanistan, a day after agencies warned that the de facto authorities’ measures have impacted life-saving assistance for hundreds of thousands of people.

Last Sunday, de facto Afghan security forces prevented national female staff members and contractors of the UN from entering the global body’s compounds in Kabul, the UN Mission in the country, UNAMA, said in a statement on Thursday.

Centres closed

And in light of the restrictions, on Tuesday, UNHCR temporarily closed its cash and support centres for vulnerable Afghans, both at the border and in areas where so many people have been returning from Iran, Pakistan and elsewhere since the start of the year.

The registration process involves providing biometric data, along with screening and interviews – work that would be “entirely impossible without Afghan female workers”, the UNHCR official stressed, noting that more than one in two returnees are women.

“This was an operational decision,” Mr. Jamal continued. “It is not a decision taken to punish anyone or to make a statement, but simply it demonstrates that we cannot work without female workers in certain circumstances.”

Since the start of the year, some 2.6 million Afghans have returned from neighbouring countries – “many not by choice”, UNHCR said.

Mr. Jamal noted that the pace of returns continues to surge, with nearly 100,000 people crossing back from Pakistan in the first week of September alone, “stretching our capacities and the capacities of this country to the limit”.

Aftershocks reverberate

Echoing those concerns, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that Afghanistan is still reeling from the 6.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Kunar and Nangarhar provinces on 31 August, followed by multiple severe aftershocks.

At least 1,172 children have died, more than half the entire death toll, said UNICEF Country Representative in Afghanistan, Dr. Tajudeen Oyewale.

Briefing journalists in Geneva via videolink, Dr Oyewale described meeting young victims of the disaster in Machkandol in Nangahar, three girls and a young boy rescued from the emergency.

“For the girls it was even more sobering; they were lost; they have lost their families, their homes have been destroyed,” he said. “The family livestock have died. And for these young girls and this young boy, the future is completely bleak.”

The provinces impacted by the earthquake are mountainous and extremely remote, the UNICEF official continued.

Jammed dirt roads

“It is filled with steep terrain, difficult navigation…it took us about three and a half hours’ drive, 40 minutes of which was on paved road and the rest was through rough mountain dirt roads, a lot of turns with jammed with oncoming vehicles and especially with falling rocks on the road.”

Humanitarians warn that the earthquake has compounded Afghanistan’s existing acute problems.

In total, the crisis has claimed more than 2,164 lives, at least 3,428 people have been injured and at least 6,700 homes have either been destroyed or badly damaged.

“Behind these numbers are children left standing alone in the rubble and families torn apart in the blink of an eye… UNICEF is literally going the extra mile and doing whatever it takes to reach these children and families with the support they need,” Dr Oyewale insisted.

Health and aid workers targeted in conflicts around the world, UN agency says

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Attacks against health facilities doubled between 2023 and 2024, and more than 900 health workers were killed last year, the agency reported.

Humanitarian aid workers were also killed in record numbers in 2024. Yet, 2025 is outpacing even these dark statistics at a time when funding for humanitarian work is shrinking and support services established over decades are struggling to operate.

The Special Surgery Building at Al-Shifa Medical Complex in central Gaza City has been reduced to rubble.

Assault on Gaza’s health system

The nearly two-year-long war has devastated Gaza’s health system, leaving thousands without access to essential services. Now, as famine takes hold, miscarriages, premature births and low birth weight cases have surged, while newborn deaths are increasing, the UN agency warned.

PULL QUOTE: Life must continue even when bombs are going off.

“Because the delivery room was under direct fire, I delivered babies in hospital hallways,” said Ayda, a senior midwife in northern Gaza. “For lights, we used mobile phones. Despite the lack of supplies and water, our hands continued to work. Life must continue even when bombs are going off.”

Since October 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) has documented over 720 attacks on healthcare in Gaza, with at least 1,580 health workers killed and as yet unknown numbers arrested and detained by Israel. Among them was Ayda, who just days after sharing her story, was killed in an airstrike along with 37 members of her family.

Dr. Khalid Badreldin completed his studies at the Ibrahim Malik Hospital in Khartoum, which now lays in ruins.

Delivering amid devastation in Sudan

In a field of rubble that used to be part of the Ibrahim Malik Hospital in Khartoum, Dr. Khalid Badreldin, a reproductive health analyst with UNFPA in Sudan, recalled performing his first surgery and delivering his first baby there.

“Now, I find it like this,” he said, lamenting the now shuttered hospital that was once a major provider of emergency treatment and maternal and neonatal services. The hospital has joined more than 80 per cent of health facilities in Sudan’s conflict zones that are no longer operational.

Meanwhile, midwives in Khartoum, the capital, are taking “huge risks to reach women in their homes”, explained Hawaa Ismael, who works at the UNFPA-supported Kararai Health Centre.

“It was exhausting, working day and night, but it’s our duty, and I’m proud of what we’ve done.”

On the other side of the country, staff at the El Fasher Maternity Hospital have come under attack, with one midwife killed when her home was shelled on Thursday and another kidnapped.

Haiti’s spiralling crisis

Clinics and hospitals have been deliberately targeted in the crisis that has gripped Haiti over the past 18 months, further weakening a health system already hobbled after years of conflict, looting and financial collapse.

In Haiti, people carrying their belongings flee in near darkness.

The State University Hospital, the country’s largest, was attacked at its reopening ceremony in December 2024, following a 10-month closure, with several people killed, according to reports. In the same month, armed gangs set fire to the Bernard Mevs Hospital in Port-au-Prince, the capital, and in April, attacks forced Mirebalais University Hospital to close.

Organized gangs are waging a brutal campaign to seize control of the capital, with sexual violence rampant. An estimated 1.2 million women and girls are in urgent need of protection against gender-based violence, but due to ongoing insecurity, three out of UNFPA’s four safe spaces in Port-au-Prince were recently forced to close and relocate. As access to emergency services remains extremely limited, just one quarter of rape survivors receive care within the critical 72-hour period.

© UNOCHA/Viktoriia Andriievska

Ukraine’s largest pediatric health centre, Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv, was hit on 8 July 2024 in one of the worst missile attacks on the country.

Heavy toll in Ukraine

Since January 2025, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recorded over 300 attacks by Russia on healthcare facilities, services and personnel in Ukraine, where women and girls are often compelled to find safer places to shelter and give birth.

I was afraid to give birth, but life goes on. We want to live too.

“Every day brings stress,” said Anastasiia from Sloviansk, on the frontline Donetsk region. “Even if there’s no immediate strike, the fighting nearby is loud and constant. I was afraid to give birth, but life goes on. We want to live too.”

Her region lacks a neonatal intensive care unit and while doctors can perform a Caesarian section, they could not provide full care if complications arose. As her due date approached, Anastasiia travelled some 20km to reach the Kharkiv Regional Perinatal Centre despite the city being regularly subjected to bombings, drone strikes and artillery shelling.

The response workers who help women like Anastasiia often face risks.

“When we arrive at the sites of attacks or in cases of violence, we don’t have time to slow down,” explained Roman, who works with a UNFPA mobile psychosocial support team in Dnipro. “It’s like our own reactions are on hold. Only later, when we look back and discuss it, do we realise how difficult it actually was.”

Under fire in DR Congo

In the restive eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), most facilities providing maternal healthcare have been bombed or looted.

Midwife Loti Kubuya Mielor assists a newly arrived displaced woman who gave birth in a shelter in Goma, DR Congo.

Indeed, just one third of hospitals in the region and one in five health centres are able to function. UNFPA’s mobile health teams are often the only option women have.

Displaced since February 2023, Francine Toyata recalled her recent travel through “darkness and chaos” with her mother to reach a UNFPA-supported mobile health clinic to give birth in the Rutshuru territory of North Kivu province.

“It is for women like Francine that we do this work,” said Nelly, her midwife.

As the conflict escalates, bombs have started hitting camps for internally displaced people, and mobile health clinics and listening centres have also been looted and destroyed.

“We were not safe,” Nelly added. “We need more support to meet these urgent needs.”

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UN agencies warn of rising heat stress risks for workers worldwide

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The new joint report, Climate change and workplace heat stress, underscores the mounting risks as climate change fuels longer, more extreme, and more frequent heatwaves.

Stressing that workers in agriculture, construction, and fisheries are already suffering the impacts of dangerous temperatures, the report points out that vulnerable groups in developing countries – including children, older adults, and low-income communities – face increasing dangers.

“Heat stress is already harming the health and livelihoods of billions of workers, especially in the most vulnerable communities,” said Dr. Jeremy Farrar, WHO Assistant Director-General for Health Promotion, Disease Prevention and Care.

“This new guidance offers practical, evidence-based solutions to protect lives, reduce inequality, and build more resilient workforces in a warming world”, he added.

Drawing on five decades of research, the report highlights how rising temperatures are hitting both health and productivity.

WMO confirmed that 2024 was the hottest year on record, at 1.55 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures, and with daytime highs above 40 °C becoming commonplace – and in some areas, even exceeding 50 °C. 

“Occupational heat stress has become a global societal challenge, which is no longer confined to countries located close to the equator – as highlighted by the recent heatwave in Europe,” said Ko Barrett, WMO Deputy Secretary-General. “Protection of workers from extreme heat is not just a health imperative but an economic necessity.”

Alarming findings

The report details how extreme heat is reshaping the world of work. It finds that worker productivity drops by 2 to 3 per cent for every degree above 20°C.

The health consequences are wide-ranging, including heatstroke, dehydration, kidney dysfunction, and neurological disorders. Overall, nearly half of the world’s population is now experiencing negative effects from high temperatures.

Path forward

Calling for urgent occupational heat action plans tailored to industries and regions, WHO and WMO guidance includes several recommendations:

  • Develop targeted occupational heat-health policies based on local weather and workforce vulnerabilities.
  • Prioritize protections for middle-aged and older workers, those with chronic health conditions, and individuals with lower physical fitness.
  • Train health professionals, employers, and workers to recognize and treat heat stress, which is often misdiagnosed.
  • Involve workers, unions, and local authorities in shaping heat-health strategies.
  • Promote affordable, sustainable, and scalable solutions, alongside innovation and new technologies.
  • Strengthen research and monitoring to ensure measures remain effective.

The guidance builds on International Labour Organization (ILO) findings that more than 2.4 billion workers are exposed to excessive heat globally, resulting in over 22.85 million occupational injuries each year.

‘Critical milestone’

“This report represents a critical milestone in our collective response to the growing threat of extreme heat in the world of work,” said Joaquim Pintado Nunes, ILO Chief of Occupational Safety and Health and the Working Environment.

“Aligned with the ILO’s mandate to promote safe and healthy working environments as a fundamental right, it offers robust, evidence-based guidance to help governments, employers and workers confront the escalating risks of climate change.”

A call to action

Both UN agencies stress that addressing heat stress is central to safeguarding lives, livelihoods, and economies. The guidance supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), urging decisive action to protect vulnerable workers, reduce poverty, and promote sustainable growth.

Urgent and coordinated action is no longer optional – it is essential, the report says.

UN honours fallen aid workers on World Humanitarian Day

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The first eight months of 2025 show no sign of a reversal of this disturbing trend, with 265 humanitarian workers killed as of 14 August, according to figures released on World Humanitarian Day.

Attacks on humanitarian workers, assets and operations violate international law and undermine the lifelines that sustain millions of people trapped in war and disaster zones.  

“Even one attack against a humanitarian colleague is an attack on all of us and on the people we serve,” said Tom Fletcher, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), speaking in Geneva.

At Headquarters in New York City, the UN hosted a commemoration ceremony for the victims of the bombing of the United Nations headquarters its office in Baghdad in 2003, which cost the lives of 22 people. Some of the survivors attended the event.

Protect aid workers

“Humanitarians carry hope where there is despair,” said Mr. Fletcher at the World Humanitarian Day 2025 Commemoration Ceremony in Geneva.  

“They bring humanity where there is inhumanity.”  

Yet, humanitarian workers are under attack.  

In 2024, most of the aid workers killed were national staff serving their communities and were attacked in the line of duty or in their homes.  

Since October 2023, 520 aid workers, mostly staff with UN Palestine refugee agency UNRWA, have been killed in Gaza — the deadliest place for humanitarians for the second year running.  

OCHA demanded that Member States protect civilians and aid workers, and hold perpetrators accountable.

Despite the dangers, “humanitarians will not retreat”, said Mr. Fletcher.

Humanitarians in the Middle East  

Across the Middle East, civilians, including humanitarian workers, “are being killed, injured, and attacked in shocking numbers,” said the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinators in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT), Syria, Yemen and Lebanon in a joint statement this Tuesday.  

Since August 2024, at least 446 humanitarian workers have been killed, wounded, kidnapped or detained in these locations. “The world is failing humanitarian workers and the people they serve,” the statement read.  

Renewing their call for the respect of international humanitarian and human right laws, the officials called on the international community to “protect those who protect humanity.”  

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World Humanitarian Day 2025: Aid workers mull record toll of their own

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Speaking to UN News from the wartorn enclave to mark World Humanitarian Day, Olga Cherevko from the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, said that exhausted aid workers continue to show up for work “day in and day out”.

Approaching two years since the start of the war in Gaza, Ms. Cherevko emphasized the commitment of her Palestinian colleagues, “the doctors, the nurses, aid workers who many of them have, lost everything and several times over”.

Red lines crossed

In comments in support of aid workers everywhere, UN Secretary-General António Guterres pointed out that humanitarian teams “are the last lifeline for over 300 million people” impacted by conflict or disaster.

Despite their lifesaving role, funding cuts are having a serious and negative impact on the world’s most vulnerable people, Mr. Guterres warned, while those who provide aid are increasingly under attack as “red lines are crossed with impunity”.

This is despite the fact that such attacks are prohibited under international law, the UN chief continued, noting that although governments have pledged action to protect them, “what is missing is political will – and moral courage…Humanitarians must be respected and protected. They can never be targeted.”

Powerless to help

From her base in Deir Al-Balah in central Gaza, Ms. Cherevko reflected on the nature of humanitarian work today and the frustration that aid teams often face when their lifesaving missions are delayed, preventing them from delivering assistance at scale.

“I think as a humanitarian, I feel powerless sometimes in Gaza because I know what it is that we can do as humanitarians when we’re unable to do so, both here in Gaza and in any other humanitarian crisis,” she explained.

“The fact that we continue to face massive impediments for delivering aid at scale, when our missions are delayed, when our missions lasted 12, 14, 18 hours; the routes that we’re given are dangerous, impassible or inaccessible.”

Surge in killings

Latest data indicates a 31 per cent surge in aid worker deaths compared to 2023, driven by the relentless conflict in Gaza.

The Strip saw 181 humanitarian workers killed in 2024, with 60 more fatalities in Sudan. More widely, violence against aid workers increased in 21 countries in 2024 compared to the previous year, with State actors the most common perpetrators.

Worryingly, there is no sign that the trend is slowing this year, with 265 aid workers killed as of 14 August this year, according to provisional data from the Aid Worker Security Database.

Amid early reports that Hamas has agreed to a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza and ongoing uncertainty about the Israeli plan to pursue a complete military takeover of the enclave, OCHA’s Ms. Cherevko highlighted the need for a permanent end to the conflict.

Aid teams are exhausted and “everyone’s still showing up (to work), but courage alone and commitment alone isn’t going to feed people, isn’t going to save people”, she insisted. “What we need is, again, a permanent ceasefire. We need political solutions to this conflict and a resolution to this crisis.”

Number of aid workers killed in Gaza conflict, highest in UN history: Guterres

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Ahead of a memorial service at Headquarters in New York, Secretary-General António Guterres told journalists that the men and women being honoured “were not just names on a list” but “extraordinary individuals – each one a story of courage, compassion, and service.”

“They were driven by the pursuit of peace. By the urgency to ease human suffering. And by the conviction that every person, everywhere, deserves dignity and protection,” he said, speaking in front of the Security Council chamber.

He acknowledged that the past year has been especially devastating for UN humanitarian workers. 

“More than one in every 50 UNRWA staff in Gaza has been killed in this atrocious conflict. This is the highest staff death toll in United Nations history,” he said.

“Some were killed delivering life-saving aid; others alongside their families; others while shielding the vulnerable.”

‘No room for impunity’

The Secretary-General said the sacrifice of all 168 fallen colleagues is a tragedy but also a reminder of the responsibility carried by every staff member every day.

It is important for the world to see this, he added, “because as we mourn those lost, we must also recognize the living.”

Mr. Guterres saluted staff members still serving in crisis zones across the globe for their courage and resilience.

“And to the world, I say: We will not grow numb to suffering. We will not accept the killing of UN personnel,” he stressed.

“We will not accept the killing of humanitarians, journalists, medical workers, or civilians as the new normal anywhere and under any circumstances. There must be no room for impunity.”

Remembering lives lost

Since 2011, the UN has held an annual service at Headquarters to honour personnel who have lost their lives in the line of duty during the previous year.

Those who paid the ultimate price in 2024 worked with UNRWA, the UN Secretariat, the UN refugee agency UNHCR, the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), and the World Food Programme (WFP).

They came from 31 countries and were teachers, engineers, doctors, administrators, humanitarians, peacekeepers, and more. Above all, they were sons and daughters, husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, and brothers and sisters.

Shortly after the press briefing, the Secretary-General joined some of their relatives, UN staff members and senior officials for the memorial service in the Trusteeship Council. Many others across the world followed the event online.

‘They were the best of us’

The Secretary-General noted that working for the UN “is far more than just a job” – it’s a calling. 

“All our fallen colleagues answered the call to serve humanity,” he said. “They did so in their own ways – without fanfare – and with determination.  They represented humanity in action.” 

He remarked that “at a time when some may question international cooperation or the very notion of multilateralism, we would all do well to remember these lives taken far too soon.”

“Let us take inspiration from how they lived,” he said. “And let us vow that the memory and mission of our fallen colleagues will endure. They were the best of us. Let them live on through our work.”

Legacy lives on

The president of the UN Staff Union in New York, Narda Cupidore, echoed this message.  She said they embodied the mission of the whole UN “and they paid the ultimate price.” 

“Let this honouring be more than a moment of silence,” she said. “Let it be a call for action. A call to protect those who serve. A call to ensure that anyone who serves under the blue flag does so with the full protection, support and respect.”

Ms. Cupidore said the legacy of the fallen colleagues “lives on in our work, in our advocacy and in our unshakeable belief that the world is worth striving for.” 

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UN calls for ‘immediate and unconditional’ release of aid workers arbitrarily detained in Yemen

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In a statement on Monday, António Guterres strongly condemned the death in detention of a World Food Programme (WFP) staff member earlier this year.

The Houthis have yet to provide “an explanation for this deplorable tragedy,” António Guterres said, renewing his call for “an immediate, transparent and thorough investigation and accountability.”

Profound injustice

“The UN and its humanitarian partners should never be targeted, arrested or detained while carrying out their mandates for the benefit of the people they serve,” said the UN chief.

These detentions have further constrained the UN’s ability to operate effectively in Yemen and have “undermined mediation efforts to secure a path toward peace,” he added.

These detentions have further constrained the UN’s ability to operate effectively in Yemen and have “undermined mediation efforts to secure a path toward peace,” he added.

Safe and immediate release

Making the occasion of Eid Al-Adha this Friday, “a time to show compassion,” the Secretary-General urged the Houthis to “immediately release those arbitrarily detained” and “end the ordeal of families who face celebrating yet another holiday without their loved ones.”

“I renew my call for their immediate and unconditional release, including those held since 2021 and 2023, and most recently this January,” Mr. Guterres said.

“You are not forgotten,” he added, addressing the detained aid workers, assuring them that the UN will continue to work through all possible channels to secure their safe and immediate release.

He also welcomed the support of international partners, NGOs and all those working to support the people of Yemen, urging Member States to express solidarity with those detained and “intensify advocacy towards their release.” 

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First Person: Myanmar aid workers brave conflict and harsh conditions to bring aid to earthquake victims

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Thein Zaw Win, Communications and Advocacy Analyst in the Yangon Office of the UN sexual and reproductive health agency (UNFPA) saw the devastating consequences of the quake during a week-long visit to the Mandalay region, one of the regions most severely affected by the disaster.

Thein Zaw Win, Communications and Advocacy Analy​st at UNFPA’s Yangon Office, speaks with​ a woman impacted by the recent earthquake in Mandalay, Myanmar.

“I was in Yangon when the earthquake struck. In the aftermath, news reports gradually began indicating that many cities had suffered significant casualties. Buildings, roads, homes, schools, and hospitals were reduced to rubble and people were trapped beneath the debris.

Communication systems were down, so I decided to travel to the affected areas and support the relief efforts.

Women and girls needed lifesaving support, including sexual and reproductive health services and maternal care, dignity kits, hygiene items, and other essential supplies as soon as possible.

Within 72 hours, the UNFPA country office had deployed a Rapid Response Team to deliver essential services to the affected population, working with partners on the ground.

The journey from Yangon to Mandalay usually takes about eight hours, but we struggled to get through, due to damaged roads and collapsed bridges. We had to find alternate routes and, at times, even navigate through the rugged fields beside the main road.

Now that the rainy season has started, the roads are even worse, and travelling has become increasingly difficult. It took us more than 10 hours to reach Mandalay.

A woman affected by earthquake receives relief items including UNFPA’s dignity kits during UN joint distribution in Sagaing, Myanmar.

In some areas of the city, debris blocked the roads. Tower blocks had collapsed and many areas had been reduced to complete rubble. Desperate families sought refuge in temporary shelters, on the streets, or in front of their damaged homes.

Tremors continued for several days. Frequent power outages during the night mean that some affected areas were plunged into darkness, making it unsafe to go anywhere. Reaching those affected and delivering aid under these conditions remains a considerable challenge.

My responsibility is to engage with communities affected by the disaster, and share their stories to a broader audience. It is also vital to raise awareness of the realities and needs on the ground so that we can secure support for emergency assistance. This is my mission.

I met a woman in Mandalay who visited our mobile clinic. She had lived in the city all her life but had never seen such devastation. Everything collapsed in a matter of seconds. She was deeply worried about the damage to healthcare facilities, as well as her ability to access medical care.

© UNOCHA/Myaa Aung Thein Kyaw

A woman in Mandalay, Myanmar, looks on at the devastation caused by the earthquake.

Amidst this crisis, the UNFPA team has provided services ranging from hygiene supplies, protection from gender-based violence, and mental health support for women and girls. They also support maternal and newborn care services. I saw for myself the unwavering resilience of humanitarian workers, and the way that UN agencies, civil society organizations, and NGOs work together.

Myanmar was already suffering from political instability and now it has been further devastated by this destructive earthquake. It is extremely difficult to deliver aid to communities in Sagaing and Mandalay, where armed conflict is ongoing.

In the present context, with monsoon conditions imminent, people are terrified of what this season may bring.

The country is also experiencing the impact of the decline in global aid funding.

UNFPA, like other UN agencies and humanitarian organizations, is dealing with constraints on resources, and we have issued an appeal for emergency assistance to support populations in critical need.

The suffering of women and children affected by the earthquake is profoundly distressing, and we need all of our strength and resilience to help them.

It is a heartbreaking experience to witness the despair in people’s eyes and to listen to their stories of loss, but we are trying to give them the dignity and hope they rightfully deserve in these difficult times.”

One in four female genital mutilation cases now carried out by health workers

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While the health sector worldwide plays a key role in stopping the abusive practice of FGM and supporting survivors, in several regions, evidence suggests otherwise.

As of 2020, an estimated 52 million girls and women were subjected to FGM at the hands of health workers – that’s around one in four cases.

“Health workers must be agents for change rather than perpetrators of this harmful practice,” said Dr Pascale Allotey, WHO’s Director for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research.

She insisted that cutting is a “severe violation of girls’ rights” which critically endangers their health.

Evidence has shown that FGM causes harm, regardless of who performs it – but  it can be more dangerous when performed by health workers, as a “medicalised” procedure can result in more severe wounds, WHO warned in a statement on Monday.  

As part of ongoing efforts to halt the practice altogether, the UN agency issued new guidelines urging greater action from doctors, governments, and local communities.

FGM in retreat

Cutting – which encompasses any procedure that removes or injures parts of the female genitalia for non-medical reasons – also requires high-quality medical care for those suffering its effects, WHO says.

Since 1990, the likelihood of a girl undergoing genital mutilation has dropped threefold, but 30 countries still practise it, putting four million girls each year at risk.

FGM can lead to short and long-term health issues, from mental health conditions to obstetric risks and sometimes the need for surgical repairs.

The newly published guidelines from WHO also suggest ways to improve care for survivors at different stages in their lives.

‘Opinion leaders’

Putting an end to the practice is within the realm of the possible – and some countries are heading in that direction, the UN health agency said.

“Research shows that health workers can be influential opinion leaders in changing attitudes on FGM, and play a crucial role in its prevention,” said Christina Pallitto, a senior author of the study at Scientist at WHO and the Human Reproduction Programme (HRP).

“Engaging doctors, nurses and midwives should be a key element in FGM prevention and response, as countries seek to end the practice and protect the health of women and girls,” she said.

Unrelenting efforts to stop FGM have led countries including Burkina Faso to reduce rates among 15 to 19-year-olds by 50 per cent in the past three decades.

Likewise, prevalence fell by 35 per cent in Sierra Leone and 30 per cent in Ethiopia – thanks to action and political will to enforce bans and accelerate prevention.

WHO in 2022 published a prevention training package for primary care health workers, to highlight the risks of the practice and equip them to engage sensitively with communities, while factoring in local culture and perspectives.

“Because of this training, I am now able to raise women’s awareness [of FGM] and persuade them about the… disadvantages,” said one health worker during the launch.