Under-Secretary-General Faremo delivers statement to Members of the Executive Board of UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS in New York.

Statement by Grete Faremo, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UNOPS, to UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive Board First Regular Session, New York – 22 January 2019

Humanitarian aid and development projects often take place in difficult locations. The need for a diverse and gender-balanced workforce to implement these projects can’t be ignored – here’s why.

The First regular session of the UNDP, UNFPA and UNOPS Executive Board will take place in New York at UN Headquarters. You can watch the live proceedings of the Executive Board via UN Web TV or follow #unopsEB on Twitter.

The World Economic Forum Annual Meeting brings together leaders of global society. This year's theme is: 'Globalization 4.0: Shaping a Global Architecture in the Age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.' UNOPS Executive Director Grete Faremo will be participating in this event.

The report, released by The Economist Intelligence Unit (The EIU), argues for a new understanding of the role infrastructure plays in long-term sustainable development.

Over the past decade, Haiti has been left devastated by a series of extreme weather events and natural disasters. In 2008, the country was hit by four hurricanes, killing 800 people and destroying agricultural land. Then, less than two years later, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake rocked the country’s capital. More than 220,000 people lost their lives and 1.5 million people were rendered homeless.

Behind every piece of equipment or service procured by UNOPS on behalf of our partners, are careful considerations about how these can positively impact the people and communities we serve – both now and in the future. Here are just a few examples.

For the health sector, dilapidated infrastructure means patients can’t access health clinics close to their homes, health clinics lose medical supplies that need refrigeration and medical professionals must fight to save lives in overcrowded or unsanitary conditions.

A new 10 million Euro grant from the Government of Germany’s development bank, KfW, will fund a school maintenance project, providing valuable opportunities for vulnerable Jordanian citizens and Syrian refugees.

The United Kingdom, Sweden, United States and Switzerland have committed more than $215 million to improving the health of Myanmar’s most vulnerable people through the UNOPS-managed Access to Health Fund.

Although healthcare has improved in Myanmar in recent years, the most vulnerable people still lack basic maternity and child healthcare, as well as healthcare for tuberculosis, HIV and malaria.