UN chief calls for bolstering South-South cooperation amidst health and economic crisis

On Sunday, United Nations chief Antonio Guterres called for “deeper international cooperation” to address the global threats, including a gruesome health crisis, poverty, inequality, and climate change inter alia. Making a virtual address on UN day for South-South Cooperation, the Secretary-General said that the cooperation was particularly “vital” for developing countries. Celebrated on September 12 every year, the South-South Cooperation involves countries of the “south in the political, economic, social, cultural, environmental and technical domains.”

“We need deeper international cooperation to address the global health crisis, reduce poverty and inequality, achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and avert climate catastrophe,” the top UN official said in his video message. “In such trying times, the solidarity that underpins South-South cooperation has once again proven vital for developing countries. “Throughout the pandemic, countries of the Global South have shared their knowledge and resources to support response and recovery efforts,” the secretary-general added. 

"The #CooperacionSurSur is more essential than ever "to recover from #COVID19 and face the #CambioClimático," UN quoted as Guterres as saying. 

High-level conference on Monday

Meanwhile, Guterres is all set to hold a high-level conference on September 13. The meeting comes at the heels of a review presented by the World Food Programme (WFP), which showed that Afghanistan stands at the brink of food and nutrition emergency threshold. As per the report, every 1 out of 2 children of 5 year's age is acutely malnourished. The results were based on data collected from 27 out of 37 provinces. "I will convene a high-level humanitarian conference for Afghanistan on September 13 to advocate for a swift scale-up in funding and full, unimpeded access to those in need," UN Chief Antonio Guterres wrote on Twitter.

UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric took to Twitter to confirm Guterres' travel to Geneva, Switzerland, to hold the high-level ministerial meeting to draft a solution in response to the crisis in Afghanistan. "... The secretary-general will travel to Geneva to convene on September 13 a high-level ministerial humanitarian meeting to address the growing needs in Afghanistan," Dujarric wrote on Twitter. The meeting will also shed light on the catastrophic deterioration of essential services in the war-ravaged country.

Image: AP