In South Sudan, UN Volunteers are rebuilding hope and resilience
Since its birth, South Sudan has been facing unprecedented humanitarian and development challenges. Over the years, the United Nations has been working closely with the Government to strengthen national institutions, empower communities, maintain peace, support humanitarian efforts and improve food security. To support these efforts in the country, the United Nations Volunteers (UNV) programme has been deploying national and international UN Volunteers with a wide range of professional expertise. Currently, South Sudan hosts the second largest deployment of UN Volunteers globally, after Colombia, with 598 UN Volunteers. These volunteers serve UN entities in the fields of health, engineering, aviation, transport and logistics, legal affairs, refugee protection, child protection, human rights, gender affairs, communications and public information, among other areas.
From 19-22 September, Ms Kyoko Yokosuka, UNV Deputy Executive Coordinator, visited South Sudan to meet with partners and UN Volunteers serving in the country.
Promoting public awareness and solutions to address overweight and obesity
In Indonesia, one in three adults, one in five children aged 5 to 12 years, and one in seven adolescents aged 13 to 18 years are overweight or obese. Despite this, there are no specific targets for childhood overweight and obesity in the national medium-term development plan, an area the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) is working on. Astrid Citra Padmita, national UN Volunteer Overweight Prevention Specialist, is part of the UNICEF team raising awareness on addressing overweight and obesity.
Across the globe, there is an increasing trend in overweight and obesity among children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 years. According to estimates of the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 340 million or almost 18 per cent of this age group were overweight or obese in 2016, compared to four per cent in 1975.