The United Nations has developed rapid and targeted response to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 crisis; the most important are listed below.
UN Guidelines
The COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan is the international community’s primary fundraising vehicle to respond to the humanitarian impacts of the virus in low- and middle income countries and support their efforts to fight it. The plan brings together appeals from WHO and other UN humanitarian agencies.
UN Women
This policy brief by the UN Secretary-General explores how women and girls’ lives are changing in the face of COVID-19 and outlines suggested priority measures to accompany both the immediate response and longer-term recovery efforts.
World Health Organization
COVID-19 and Violence Against Women: What the Health Sector/System Can Do
Helen Clark: WHO coronavirus inquiry aims to 'stop the world being blindsided again'
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
Position Paper on COVID-19 Preparedness and Responses in Prison
UN Surveys, Reports
UN Women
How COVID-19 is changing the world: a statistical perspective
Surveys distributed by UN Women in Asia and the Pacific are showing that women and men are experiencing the effects of the pandemic differently.
How COVID-19 restrictions and the economic consequences are likely to impact migrant smuggling and cross-border trafficking in persons to Europe and North America
COVID-19 and the drug supply chain: from production and trafficking to use
UNFPA
COVID-19 with A Gender Lens
This publication outlines how disease outbreaks affect women and men differently, including the sexual and reproductive health and psychosocial needs of female frontline health workers.
UNICEF
Video Essay: Coping with COVID-19
These are the stories of young girls living through COVID-19 – coping with the fears of child marriage, the struggles of distance learning, and the burden of isolation. They are also the stories of a world reimagined. Armed only with mobile phones, 16 girls from nine countries film their hardships, fears and hopes for a fair world.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UN DESA)
Responding to COVID-19 and Recovering Better
This is a compilation volume of UN DESA’s special policy brief series on the economic and social impact of COVID-19, which aims to complement and support the Secretary-General’s initiatives in response to COVID-19.
On pages 71-72, the policy brief "Leaving No One Behind: The COVID-19 Crisis Through the Disability and Gender Lens" highlights the impact of COVID-19 on women and girls with disabilities and provides policy guidance for governments and other stakeholders to adopt inclusive and accessible measures to not only mitigate the adverse impacts of the crisis but build resilient societies.
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNODC)
How COVID-19 is changing the world: A statistical perspective
The report highlights the impact on homicide and drug trafficking. Available reports on countries of western Europe and the United States, reflect a sharp decrease of lethal violence, while it also shows that tight lockdown measures have resulted in a sharp decrease of homicide levels. To assess the impact on domestic violence, however, is challenging. While a decrease of gender-based killings was observed in some countries, requests for assistance helplines or service centers protecting victims of gender violence increased in a number of countries.
How COVID-19 restrictions and the economic consequences
are likely to impact migrant smuggling and cross-border trafficking in persons to Europe and North America
COVID-19 and the drug supply chain: from production and trafficking to use