The Lid is On

What makes a good aid chief? That’s the question we set out to answer in Humanitarian Leadership Stories, a mini-series produced in collaboration with the UN Humanitarian Office, OCHA.

Helping people in emergencies is part and parcel of being a humanitarian, but there’s a lot more to helping vulnerable communities than you might think, as we’ll hear, in this compelling podcast series.

In this first episode, Daniel Johnson from UN News talks to Susan Namondo-Ngongi on her time as UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Eritrea.

Unless drastic changes are made the future of water looks bleak.

On World Meteorological Day, held on 23 March, Conor Lennon spoke to Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organisation, Lindsey Blodgétt, Former President of the World Youth Parliament for Water, and Maarten van Aalst, Director of the Dutch Royal Meteorological Institute, about the changes that societies need to make, in order to cope with the changing climate in the coming years.

Water doesn’t respect borders, and 153 countries share basins. Water scarcity is increasing, and so is the potential for conflict: “Water for Cooperation” is one of the key themes of this year’s conference.

On this week’s episode Conor Lennon from UN News speaks to Suleiman Adamu, Nigeria’s Federal Minister of Water Resources, and Sonja Köppel, the Secretary to the UN Water Convention.

This year’s UN World Water Development Report warned of a global water crisis, unless international cooperation is rapidly stepped up.

On this week’s episode of The Lid Is On, recorded the day after the release of the study on 21 March, Conor Lennon speaks to Richard Connor, the editor-in-chief of the report, Kristin Meyer from the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), and Neil Dhot, from the International Federation of private water operators.

In the last of our mini-series recorded in The Gambia, we look at the challenges and opportunities for entrepreneurs, and how the UN is helping new companies to grow, bringing much-needed jobs to rural areas.

Conor Lennon meets Musa Darbo, who quit his well-paying job in the US to return home and start a rice business, in order to employ struggling smallholder farmers, and end The Gambia’s dependence on imported rice.

Music: Within the Earth, Ketsa

When it comes to climate action, The Gambia can proudly lay claim to being the first country to meet its commitments under the 2015 Paris Climate Agreements.

But, like all developing countries, its people are suffering disproportionately from the effects of the climate crisis, particularly more unpredictable rainfall, and flooding.

Many women and girls in The Gambia are affected by “period poverty”, meaning that they are unable to afford menstrual products, which puts them at risk of infection, and discourages them from attending school.

The Gambia, the smallest country on the African mainland, and one of the least developed countries in the world, has been going through a transition to full democracy since 2017, the end of a two-decade long dictatorship.

It’s been a year since Russian forces invaded neighbouring Ukraine, the beginning of a conflict that led to the displacement of more than 14 million Ukrainians, and around 40 per cent of the population in need of humanitarian aid.

Several months into the fighting, Denise Brown took up her position as Resident Coordinator, the most senior UN official in Ukraine. She told Conor Lennon from UN News that, despite the huge challenges faced by the Ukrainian people, their defining feature has been their courage, and their determination.

Music: Within the Earth, Ketsa