The United Nations has declared 2020 as the International Year of Plant Health under the slogan “Protecting plants, protecting life”. The year is a once in a lifetime opportunity to raise awareness on how protecting plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect the environment and boost economic development.
New York is surely the city in the world that is suffering most from the ravages of the COVID 19 pandemic. Although we cannot ignore that before the crisis, a million people suffered from food insecurity, the actions taken to date in this emergency context represent a historical convergence between local government, the private sector and civil society actors to feed more than eight million New Yorkers.
A new story book that aims to help children understand and come to terms with COVID-19 has been produced by a collaboration of more than 50 organizations working in the humanitarian sector, including the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and Save the Children.
The World Health Organization is working closely with global experts, governments and partners to rapidly expand scientific knowledge about this new virus, track its spread and virulence, and advise countries and individuals on measures to protect their health and prevent outbreak spread.