“AKID2030 - COVID-19”: Keeping the SDGs promise is the right response to Covid-19

About the author

UNIC Rabat

The United Nations Department of Global Communications (DGC) promotes global awareness and understanding of the work of the United Nations through its network of United Nations Information Centres (UNICs) around the world. The UN Information Centre in Rabat engages with local audiences in Morocco.

Community engagement is key…for sure! UN-Morocco launched AKID2030-COVID-19, a community engagement initiative to support the nation’s efforts to respond to the pandemic. As Martine Therer, UNDP’s Deputy Representative in Morocco explained, the idea is to share messages of determination, confidence and hope, a need that has become especially acute in these times of confinement, stress and uncertainty.

The pandemic has exposed perilous gaps, in Morocco and around the world. There is no vaccine and no cure – yet – but there is one certainty: solidarity offers the best hope to meet this challenge, and to keep moving forward. The Sustainable Development Goals charted a path to 2030: with a lot of work and strong commitment, countries can expect to achieve them by then. But there is no time to waste, no room to lose heart – even though COVID-19 is an enormous hurdle on this path. Hence, the campaign has been named AKID (Arabic for certainly) 2030 - COVID-19.

AKID2030 - COVID-19 aims to encourage a daily stream of optimism and positive vibes, boosting morale in these hard times of lockdown. Celebrities, artists, medical doctors, youth leaders, students, writers, journalists, academia and regular citizens are joining, lending strength to each other and refreshing hearts with messages of hope.

WATCH VIDEO - Manal Abidar, advisor to the parallel Government of Youth and climate advocate, a Moroccan representative at the UN youth climate summit 2019 sharing thoughts of optimism and hope for the future as part of the AKID2030 – COVID-19 campaign.

WATCH VIDEO - Youssef Seffour, Client Service team leader at a company in the Emirates, shares his message on importance of solidarity as part of the AKID2030 – COVID-19 campaign.

These are just some examples of more than 50 messages posted already. True to the nature of the diverse country, some of the messages are from people in Morocco from Nepal, Central Africa, South Korea and Lebanon.

Every crisis brings opportunities. Even as this one has laid bare the extreme vulnerabilities of our globalized societies, it also has highlighted that we are not just in this difficult situation together: we also will emerge from it together, and with a shared determination to meet whatever challenges await.

After this, can we beat the odds of whatever comes next? Akid! Certainly!

Melissa Fleming

S7-Episode 2: Bringing Health to the World

“You see, we're not doing this work to make ourselves feel better. That sort of conventional notion of what a do-gooder is. We're doing this work because we are totally convinced that it's not necessary in today's wealthy world for so many people to be experiencing discomfort, for so many people to be experiencing hardship, for so many people to have their lives and their livelihoods imperiled.”

Dr. David Nabarro has dedicated his life to global health. After a long career that’s taken him from the horrors of war torn Iraq, to the devastating aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami, he is still spurred to action by the tremendous inequalities in global access to medical care.

“The thing that keeps me awake most at night is the rampant inequities in our world…We see an awful lot of needless suffering.”

:: David Nabarro interviewed by Melissa Fleming

Ballet Manguinhos resumes performing after a COVID-19 hiatus with “Woman: Power and Resistance”. Photo courtesy Ana Silva/Ballet Manguinhos

UNIC Rio

Brazilian ballet pirouettes during pandemic

Ballet Manguinhos, named for its favela in Rio de Janeiro, returns to the stage after a long absence during the COVID-19 pandemic. It counts 250 children and teenagers from the favela as its performers. The ballet group provides social support in a community where poverty, hunger and teen pregnancy are constant issues.

Nazira Inoyatova is a radio host and the creative/programme director at Avtoradio FM 102.0 in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Photo courtesy Azamat Abbasov

UNO Tashkent

Radio journalist gives the facts on COVID-19 in Uzbekistan

The pandemic has put many people to the test, and journalists are no exception. Coronavirus has waged war not only against people's lives and well-being but has also spawned countless hoaxes and scientific falsehoods.