bhutan

The small mountain nation of Bhutan has so far managed to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, despite sharing a border with China and India, two countries which have been badly affected by the pandemic. Bhutan is now on the way to vaccinating more than 90 per cent of the eligible adult population. Gerald Daly, the UN Resident Coordinator there, says that volunteers, and preventative government action, have been key to the country’s success.

While the global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been staggering, the full impact on health has been far greater, according to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).  The agency said fear, isolation, grief, economic stress  and shuttered support services have taken a toll on the mental well-being of people around the world.

Farmers in the mountain kingdom of Bhutan are being helped by the UN to boost their livelihoods using their traditional knowledge while protecting the country’s varied biodiversity.

Addressing global leaders at the 72nd annual general debate at the United Nations, the Prime Minister of Bhutan underscored that the impacts of climate change – illustrated by devastating hurricanes and floods, and record-setting temperatures year after year – are very real.

One of the largest refugee resettlement operations in the world has been launched this week, with more than 100 Bhutanese refugees in eastern Nepal heading to the United States to begin new lives, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has pledged to continue its support of Bhutan’s transition to democracy as voters went to the polls today in historic elections in the small Himalayan country.

The United Nations refugee agency today said it was extremely concerned over a violent clash between Bhutanese refugees and Indian police, and expressed its sadness at the death of one Bhutanese and the injury of several others.

Tens of thousands of poor farmers and households headed by women living in the most isolated villages of the remote Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan will benefit from a new $20-million agricultural development programme supported by the United Nations.

Rising world oil prices are having a devastating effect on the United Nations refugee agency's fuel budget for more than 100,000 Bhutanese refugees in camps in eastern Nepal, who rely on kerosene cooking and lighting, with more than half a million dollars in extra funds approved on Thursday to make up the shortfall.