First Person

Some displaced people in Yemen have become scapegoats for the COVID-19 pandemic.
© UNHCR/Jean-Nicolas Beuze

First Person: Yemen ‘cannot even afford to worry about the coronavirus’

28 February 2021
Humanitarian Aid

In Yemen, whose people are living through a long-running, brutal war, which has led to the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, COVID-19 is far from being a top priority, says the top UN refugee agency (UNHCR) official in the Arabian Peninsula country.

A teacher explains how to use the application that will allow students to access educational material.
El Origen Foundation

First Person: The Colombian youth fighting for digital education for all

20 February 2021
SDGs

Tania Rosas, a Colombian education advocate from an afro-indigenous background, is hoping to improve learning outcomes for disadvantaged communities in her country, with a digital application tailored to their specific needs.

A young girl at a plant nursery in Indonesia.
CIFOR/Ricky Martin

First Person: ‘The world is in your hands and begins at your door’.

18 February 2021
Climate and Environment

British celebrity gardener Monty Don, a UN advocate for plant health, is raising awareness of the links between human health, plant health and the well-being of the planet.

Sarah Copland with her son, Isaac, in New York.
Sarah Copland

First Person: A mother’s ‘indescribable’ pain six months after the Beirut explosion

13 February 2021
Peace and Security

Six months after a massive explosion destroyed much of the centre of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, a mother has been talking about the “indescribable” grief she has experienced at losing her two-year-old son to injuries sustained in the blast.

Chef Louise Mabulo, 2019 UNEP Young Champion of the Earth.
UNEP

First Person: Digging for victory in the Philippines

3 February 2021
Economic Development

Some farming techniques can have a devastating and negative effect on the environment, as farmers seek to harvest the maximum amount of produce from their land, but the efforts of a Filipino chef and activist are demonstrating that, with the right approach, agriculture can help to regenerate land, offer protection from the effects of climate change and extreme weather, and improve livelihoods.