Dear Colleagues,

I know that this is a difficult and troubling time for all of us, but I also know that challenges occur in life and it is how we handle them that helps us overcome even our fears and stresses. Now is the time to call on the inner strengths that we all have, as well as on our Faith.  I have had some major health challenges in the past that have made me stronger in my Faith as well as in my determination to get the facts about the problem. So I urge you to stay steadfast and to support in prayers and meditations the scientists, doctors, nurses, healthcare workers and everyday workers who bring us the services we need for day-to-day wellbeing, and also to follow the necessary measures that can keep us well.

 As Governor Cuomo said today, we are all connected spiritually.  I send blessings to all the NGO community, especially to members of the Executive Committee, our family members, friends and acquaintances. When we have come out of this crisis, I look forward to working with you towards realizing the UN important goals.

 

BLESSINGS to all be safe and stay well.

 

Fannie Munlin, President

19 March 2020 - We are facing a global health crisis unlike any in the 75-year history of the United Nations - one that is spreading human suffering, infecting the global economy and upending people's lives.

A global recession - perhaps of record dimensions - is a near certainty. 

The International Labour Organization has just reported that workers around the world could lose as much as 3.4 trillion U.S. dollars in income by the end of this year.

This is, above all, a human crisis that calls for solidarity. 

Our human family is stressed and the social fabric is being torn.  People are suffering, sick and scared. 

Current responses at the country level will not address the global scale and complexity of the crisis.

This is a moment that demands coordinated, decisive, and innovative policy action from the world's leading economies.   We must recognize that the poorest countries and most vulnerable - especially women - will be the hardest hit.

I welcome the decision by G20 leaders to convene an emergency summit next week to respond to the epic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic - and I look forward to taking part.

My central message is clear:  We are in an unprecedented situation and the normal rules no longer apply.  We cannot resort to the usual tools in such unusual times.

The creativity of the response must match the unique nature of the crisis - and the magnitude of the response must match its scale.

Our world faces a common enemy.  We are at war with a virus.

COVID-19 is killing people, as well as attacking the real economy at its core - trade, supply chains, businesses, jobs.  Entire countries and cities are in lockdown.  Borders are closing.  Companies are struggling to stay in business and families are simply struggling to stay afloat. 

In managing this crisis, we also have a unique opportunity. 

Done right, we can steer the recovery toward a more sustainable and inclusive path.  But poorly coordinated policies risk locking in -- or even worsening -- already unsustainable inequalities, reversing hard-won development gains and poverty reduction.

Secretary General António Guterres

-way).

The  new  Executive Committee is happy to represent your interests at the UN, every day.  In order to better serve you, we ask you to tell us more about your work and mission, so we may better represent your interests here at UN Headquarters.

The  NGO Reporter is now an official Sub Committee of the Executive Committee! For the first time ever, the Executive Committee would like us to develop the 

NGO Reporter  to ensure constituent involvement on all levels.