Global perspective Human stories

rural areas

ILO/Jennifer A. Patterson

PODCAST: Rural girls bear brunt of COVID-19 pandemic

As the coronavirus continues to spread worldwide, in developing countries it’s rural girls who are proving to be the most vulnerable to abuse during economic collapse and lockdown.

That’s the view of a young woman activist from Uganda, Zahara, who in this special edition of our Lid is On podcast, hosted by the UN sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, joins the agency’s chief Natalia Kanem, plus leading child rights NGO, Plan International’s AB Albrectsen, in conversation to talk about the challenges facing women and girls during this unprecedented health crisis.

UNDP Colombia

Building resilience on Colombia's border: FAO

La Guajira, Colombia’s northernmost region, is dry with desert landscapes. It’s prone to drought and food insecurity particularly in rural areas.

In recent years, the economic crisis in neighboring Venezuela has pushed over a million migrants across the border, including 165,000 people into La Guajira.

The influx  has put a strain on host communities, where food is limited and natural resources scarce, so the UN Food and Agriculture Organization decided to take action.

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IFAD/video caption

Remittances from Europe could transform rural communities

Migrant workers in Europe sent nearly $110 billion to their home countries last year, according to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

With 40 per cent of that amount going to rural areas, IFAD says remittances can play a role in transforming vulnerable communities.

The UN fund has launched a report which recommends reducing the cost of sending money abroad and improving migrant workers’ access to savings and credit so as to increase investment in their homelands.