UNDP Somalia - Press Releases

Press Releases

Determined to provide for her family after her husband was killed, mother-of-six Mana Abdulle Abukar started selling fruits and vegetables at the Hoosh Market in Somalia’s Dharkenley District.

Despite her best efforts, Mana couldn’t make a decent living because of the market’s terrible conditions. Overcrowding in the chaotic market forced Mana to display her goods in the open air, where they were spoiled by dust, mud, sun, and rain. On top of that, the market had no toilets, except a poorly-maintained pit latrine.

Proceeds from 8th Annual Match to support Haiti and Pakistan

Geneva / Piraeus, 6 December 2010 - United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Goodwill Ambassador Didier Drogba will join top footballers Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane in the 8th Annual Match Against Poverty on 14 December.

The Match, which kicks off at the Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus, Greece, at 9:15 p.m. local time, will channel funds into recovery efforts for the catastrophic disasters that hit Haiti and Pakistan this year.

“I always wanted to participate in the Match Against Poverty,” said Drogba, who was appointed as UNDP Goodwill Ambassador in 2007.

“This is the first year the English Premier League calendar allows me to be present. I am thrilled to be with Ronaldo, Zidane and many other players to help the people of Haiti and Pakistan, and contribute to the global fight against poverty.”

UNDP will receive half of the match proceeds, which will be used to support the nearly 25 million people affected by the Haiti earthquake and Pakistan floods.

Funds from the 7th Annual Match Against Poverty, which took place in Lisbon, Portugal, in January, were used for a UNDP employment creation programme in Haiti.

Olympiacos Football Club, which hosts the event, will donate its share of proceeds to Argo, the Navy Union for parents of children with special needs, as well as to homeless and disadvantaged communities in Piraeus.

As in previous years, the Goodwill Ambassadors will mobilize their team from across Europe to take on an all-star team from Olympiacos in a friendly match.

Massimo Bussaca, a Swiss referee for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, has been confirmed as referee for the match.

Information on ticket sales is available at: www.olympiacos.org

For more information contact:

In Geneva: Aziyade Poltier-Mutal, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it | tel: +41 22 917 8368 | cell: +41 79 349 1610.
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UNDP is the UN's global network to help people meet their development needs and build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working as a trusted partner with Governments, civil society and the private sector to help them build their own solutions to global and national development challenges. Further information can be found at www.undp.org . Follow us on twitter and facebook

MDGs –There are no spectators

The soccer fever is with us. The 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament is being held in South Africa- the first time that the tournament has been hosted by an African nation.

The tournament kicked off on 11 June and scheduled to conclude on 11 July 2010. It is the culmination of a qualification process that involved 204 nations. Thirty two nations are involved in the World Cup Finals drawn from all continents.
Soccer is the most famous global sport and the World Cup is the most widely viewed sporting event in the world. Three million people will watch the World Cup in the stadiums but a cumulative television audience of an estimated 26 billion viewers will watch it on television, making broadcast operations vital to the success of the tournament.

Sport gives a great tool for development. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other UN agencies are using the World Cup tournament to push for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – the eight targets world leaders have pledged to achieve by 2015.

Watch Zinédine Zidane and Didier Drogba, UNDP Goodwill Ambassadors talk about the MDGs http://www.kickoutpoverty.org/
Press release: Drogba and Zidane launch “There are no spectators, we are all Players”

Secretary General Message on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against women

New York, 25 November 2009

In the ten years since the General Assembly designated 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the circle of engagement has widened. More groups and individuals, including men and boys, are getting involved in efforts to prevent and address this heinous violation of women’s human rights. There has also been significant progress at the national level as many countries have adopted laws and comprehensive action plans.

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