Countries in Southeast Asia are coming together with the support of the UN to tackle what is being described as “one of the biggest drug-trafficking corridors in the world.”

Traditionally, the highly addictive drugs, opium and heroin were trafficked out of the region, but now more dangerous synthetic drugs are being manufactured in remote jungle laboratories in ever larger quantities.Closer collaboration across borders between law enforcement agencies is helping to slow down the illegal trafficking.

Daniel Dickinson travelled to the north of Thailand for this special edition of The Lid Is On.

Production credit: Pauline Batista, Music credit: Ketsa 'Within the Earth'

With the world currently recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, and reeling from the economic fallout of the war in Ukraine, progress on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals remains slow.

So, can we pick up the pace in the seven years we have left in this decade, and get closer to realizing the Goals? And can Youth Leaders make a difference?

During the 2023 UN Youth Forum, Conor Lennon from UN News spoke to three exceptional young people in April, to get their perspective: Indian educator and social entrepreneur Richa Gupta, South Sudanese refugee advocate Nhial Deng, and Brazilian youth leader Lana Weidgenant.

Music: Within the Earth, Ketsa

On today’s episode of The Lid Is On, Conor Lennon speaks to three exceptional young changemakers who have been recognized by the UN for the contributions they are making to a more sustainable world.

Vee Kativhu is an award-winning education activist from Zimbabwe, American Paralympian Jamal Hill launched a foundation to cut the number of people who drown each year, and Karen Wang, from China, is the founder of a startup which provides carbon accounting software to help institutions meet their net zero goals.

This episode was recorded as an SDG Media Zone session, during the ECOSOC Youth Forum, which took place in April at UN Headquarters.

Music: Within the Earth, Ketsa

The UN Young Leaders for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are an inspiring group of young people from across the world, achieving great things in areas as diverse as gender equality, climate action, and health equity.

The current cohort were all in New York in April for the 2023 UN Youth Forum, an annual gathering where youthful changemakers can voice their opinions, contribute to policy discussions at the UN, and put forward innovative solutions to the challenges the world faces.

Conor Lennon caught up with three of the Leaders during the event: Sudanese women’s rights advocate Mayada Adil, Paul Ndhlovu, a voice for young people living with HIV/AIDS in Zimbabwe, and Gibson Kawago, a social entrepreneur bringing clean energy to rural communities in Tanzania.

Music: Within the Earth, Ketsa

In the final episode of Humanitarian Leadership Stories, a mini-series produced in collaboration with the UN Humanitarian Office, OCHA,we find out why there’s so much more to relief work than just delivering emergency assistance.

Daniel Johnson hears from humanitarians in hotspots such as Gaza, Haiti, and Libya, on why it’s essential to help those in chronic conflict zones to become more resilient.

• Post-production: Srdan Slavkovic
• Voice artist: Alex Williams
• Music: Ketsa, Night Whispers

For veteran UN Humanitarian Coordinator Imran Riza, holding the line on impartiality is key in emergencies. And he should know, having served as the Organization’s top relief official in Damascus, Syria.

Hear Imran’s story in episode five of Humanitarian Leadership Stories, a mini-series produced in collaboration with the UN Humanitarian Office, OCHA, which also includes fascinating insights from top UN top aid coordinators reflecting on their engagement in Burkina Faso, Lebanon, Libya, Nigeria, South Sudan and Somalia.

• Post-production: Srdan Slavkovic
• Voice artist: Alex Williams
• Music: Ketsa, Night Whispers

In episode four of Humanitarian Leadership Stories, a mini-series produced in collaboration with the UN Humanitarian Office, OCHA, we hear how tough discussions with warring sides are part and parcel of being a top UN relief coordinator.

This podcast also takes us to Nigeria, South Sudan, Jordan and Lebanon, where we’ll find out how the work of the UN’s relief chiefs is driven by putting vulnerable people first.

• Post-production: Srdan Slavkovic
• Voice artist: Alex Williams
• Music: Ketsa, Night Whispers

In the third episode of Humanitarian Leadership Stories, our mini-series produced in collaboration with the UN Humanitarian Office, OCHA, Daniel Johnson from UN News speaks to frontline relief veteran Najat Rochdi, about restoring hope to people in crisis.

It’s what Najat did, when she helped women facing gender-based violence in Lebanon, where she was the UN’s Humanitarian and Resident Coordinator. Daniel also finds out how the UN’s top aid officials in the Central African Republic, Jordan, South Sudan, and Somalia have taken steps to address the scourge of sexual violence and discrimination.

• Post-production: Srdan Slavkovic
• Music: Ketsa, Night Whispers

In the second episode of Humanitarian Leadership Stories, our co-production with OCHA, the UN Humanitarian Office, top UN relief officials explain how the key humanitarian principle of putting people in crisis first – and remaining accountable to them – guides their work.

Daniel Johnson hears how UN humanitarian coordinators go about their work, taking calculated risks where armed groups are concerned, and not shying away from standing up to authority either.

• Post-production: Srdan Slavkovic
• Music: Ketsa, Night Whispers

What makes a good aid chief? That’s the question we set out to answer in Humanitarian Leadership Stories, a mini-series produced in collaboration with the UN Humanitarian Office, OCHA.

Helping people in emergencies is part and parcel of being a humanitarian, but there’s a lot more to helping vulnerable communities than you might think, as we’ll hear, in this compelling podcast series.

In this first episode, Daniel Johnson from UN News talks to Susan Namondo-Ngongi on her time as UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Eritrea.

• Post-production: Srdan Slavkovic
• Music: Ketsa, Night Whispers