UN-Habitat COVID-19 Response
The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first identified in December 2019 and the outbreak was declared a public health emergency by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in January 2020, affecting 213 countries, areas or territories around the world by mid-May 2020. Europe and the Americas are currently the most affected. The global situation could be observed at a glance at https://who.sprinklr.com/.
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a global health crisis having overwhelming impacts on developing nations that lack the wherewithal to counter the pandemic let alone buoying the economies. It has now morphed beyond a health crisis with devastating social, economic and political ramifications and impacting the ways the world and everyday life are perceived. Global and multilateral responses to restrain the spread of the disease have been significantly augmented with investments being channeled to support sturdier mitigation efforts and strengthening healthcare capacity.
UN-Habitat COVID-19 Response
Globally, UN-Habitat is responding to a growing volume of requests from both national and local governments to support them prepare for, prevent, respond to and recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. UN-Habitat COVID-19 Response Plan is available at,
https://unhabitat.org/sites/default/files/2020/04/final_un-habitat_covid-19_response_plan.pdf
The UN-Habitat COVID-19 Policy and Programmatic Framework provides direction for global, regional and as well as country-level interventions. The framework is a key instrument to focus and scale the contribution of UN-Habitat to the overall response led by national and local governments, UN agencies and local partners. The framework is available at
UN-Habitat in Sri Lanka
UN-Habitat has taken steps to ensure the safety of personnel as well as unhindered continuity of our operations. We continue to closely monitor the evolution of COVID-19 in Sri Lanka and the uncertainties the pandemic has brought about at national and local levels. Drawing on more than 40 years of experience in Sri Lanka in urban, rural and estate/plantation sectors and in both humanitarian and development settings, UN-Habitat is ready to support the Government of Sri Lanka and our partners in COVID-19 preparedness and response, in addressing the social and economic consequences of the pandemic and building resilience, particularly in underserved settlements.
