On the ground, the women of this tropical area meet to repair the torn nets, to sort the catches of the day and prepare their harvests for the market.

Among them, Christina Guevarra, who gently releases a blue swimming crab from her net. “From February to May, we are grateful,” she told the UN before International Tropical Day marked every year on June 29. “But after these months, especially when the rainy season begins, we have to find other ways to win. »»

Simple but difficult life

Christina’s family, like many others in Sasmuan, is based on the river bonus, an increasingly threatened livelihood by the drop in fish populations and environmental degradation.

“It is difficult in coastal communities like ours because we depend so much on the harvests of the river,” she said. “Life for us, the fishermen, is simple, but it is also difficult. »»

For generations, the local population depends on the coastal wetlands of the Sasmuan Pampanga, which is part of a watershed that drains in Manila bay.

But pollution, poor waste management and unsustainable practices are now endangering its biodiversity and the local economy.

“The waste we see in the river also comes from communities upstream,” said Irene Villar, deputy chief of Pampanga’s Environment and Natural Resources Office. “Even with an appropriate provision and policies of waste, the application remains a challenge.”

To solve these problems, the Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) project which is funded by the Global environmental installationimplemented by the United Nations Development Program (Predict) has established a partnership with the Provincial Government of Pampenga and local groups to promote sustainable practices, in particular not only on the conservation of sailors, but also on edifying vulnerable communities, especially women.

In Sasmuan, women like Edna Bilacog and Rose Ann Tungol find work in a material recovery installation, sorting household waste. Their salary, around 175 pesos per day (US $ 4), is well below the local minimum wage. “What we are barely gaining from our needs,” they admit, but their work helps support their families.

Net gain

Others, like Maricar Guevarra, relied on traditional crafts. A weaver qualified for over 20 years, she earns about $ 4 per repaired net and $ 13 for a big known as a pumpkinwhich takes four days to finish. “It was my main source of income, especially when my husband fell ill,” she said. To reach both ends, she also makes the laundry and sells homemade meals.

Women also lead the crab trade, disentiling the crustaceans of the nets and preparing them in the market, although the unsustainable aquaculture of neighboring fish ponds threatens their livelihood. In response, many have diversified. During the dead, they work as aid, workers or store employees in neighboring cities.

In the village of Batang 2nd, a group of women transforms the Purslane Sea, a bad shore, in Athara (Marinated salad), on the continent, Patricia Culala built a business around the crab paste. “The fat of the crab is the tastiest part-that’s what I preserve and sells in bottles,” she explained. “Thanks to this company, I was able to send my children to school.”

Sasmuan’s women are both resilient and innovative. But without lasting solutions, their future remains uncertain. Fair wages, the conservation led by the community and the management of responsible rivers are essential to preserve the wetlands and the lives they nourish.

The agreement is “an important step towards de-escalation, peace and stability in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and the Great Lakes region,” he said in a statement that evening.

A breakthrough in the middle of the crisis

Since the 1990s, the eastern DRC has been plagued by dozens of armed groups who have terrorized the population.

The government has long accused Rwanda of supporting the rebel M23 group that Rwanda denied.

Earlier this year, the M23 launched an offensive in the provinces of northern and southern Kivu, capturing cities and villages, including the provincial capitals Goma and Bukavu.

Thousands of civilians have been killed, hundreds of thousands of others have been moved and serious human rights violations have been committed.

UN’s commitment remains

The Secretary General congratulated the United States for his management in facilitating the mediation process, in coordination with Qatar and the African Union mediator, President Faure Gnassingbé of Togo.

He also recognized the contributions of the five co-facilitators designated by the Eastern African Community (EAC) and the Development Community of Southern Africa (SADC).

He urged the parties to fully honor their commitments under the peace agreement and online with United Nations Security Council resolution 2773 (2025)Including the cessation of hostilities and all other agreed measures.

Resolution, unanimously adopted in Februarycondemned the M23 offensive and called for the DRC and Rwanda to return to diplomatic talks.

The secretary general concluded his declaration by saying the UN, including through his peacekeeping mission in the DRC, Monusco“It remains fully determined to support the implementation of the agreement, in close coordination with the African Union, regional and international partners”.

By coincidence, the Security advice Friday to discuss developments in the DRC.

The secretary general representative for the country and the head of Monusco, Bintou Keita, praised the peace agreement as an important step towards the implementation of the conflict.

“A chance to turn the page”

The United Nations Agency for Refugees, Hcrechoed this message in a declaration On Saturday, saying that the agreement “offers a chance to stop the cycle of violence and travel and focus on solutions that restore dignity, stability and opportunity.”

In addition, he “can bring renewed hope to those who have endured far too long for too long,” added the head of the agency, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.

“It is a chance to turn the page-ensure the protection of civilians, including refugees and people displaced internally, and advance lasting solutions that allow them to rebuild their life in security and dignity,” he said.

The country of Southeast Asia has already raised nearly $ 12 billion in thematic obligations, including blue bonds and Islamic investment instruments over the past seven years.

These efforts were supported by development partners, including the United Nations.

Putut Hari Satyaka, is the Deputy Minister of Financing and Investment of Development at the Indonesian Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas). He spoke to the UN News before a UN key Conference on development of development which begins in Seville on June 30.

UN News: How much money is necessary in Indonesia to reach the SDGs and what is your estimated financing gap?

Putut Hari Satyaka: The existence of an ODD financing lake remains an important challenge, especially for developing countries. Indonesia is no exception. The financing gap to fully achieve the 17 objectives and their objectives remains significant. With approximately $ 4.2 billions of dollars necessary for Indonesia to reach the SDGs, there is a funding gap of 1.7 billion of dollars which has not yet been resolved.

UN News: How to reduce this gap?

Putut Hari Satyaka: We need an integrated and transformative approach, going beyond “business as usual”. For us, it means two things.

First, we must improve the use of public finances to be more effective, resistant and transparent. This includes improving budget alignment on the objectives of SDGs, strengthening the efficiency of expenditure and the guarantee that resources are effectively priority and used for sectors generating transformative discharge effects for sustainable development.

Second, we must be creative and innovative – which means that we must develop existing innovative funding methods and explore new ones. Some of the most important instruments and approaches are mixed finance, thematic obligations and denominational financing.

Indonesia has made great progress in this regard. We have created an ecosystem of a wide range of innovative instruments, attracting a diverse range of stakeholders and entities, to support the necessary regulations and to develop the empowering environment to maintain the market.

UN News: What is the denominational funding and what has been experienced by Indonesia so far?

Putut Hari Satyaka: Confessional financing, in particular in the Indonesian context, refers to financial practices based on religious principles, in particular, in the principles of Sharia law in Islam.

As Indonesia has 241.5 million Muslims, 85% of the population and confessional social funding as zakat And waqf have been a longtime practice, deeply rooted in our society.

What is new is the allowance of these instruments towards the SDGs. Indonesia has made solid progress in the progress of Sharia law as part of its inclusive growth program.

Sharia law now increases by 14% per year, exceeding conventional finances. We also defend the scale, green sukukwhich is an obligation in accordance with Sharia law specifically issued to finance environmentally friendly projects.

This reflects the strong commitment of Indonesia to build a competitive financial ecosystem for denominational instruments, and we will continue to strengthen collaboration, stimulate innovation and guarantee that denominational funding plays a central role in our economic development.

UN news: are you able to raise new funding thanks to these denominational instruments? Critics sometimes say it’s just another way to reach the same funds you might get otherwise.

Putut Hari Satyaka: Yes, we are. With the largest Muslim population in the world, there is a massive potential in the pipeline of denominational financing to the SDGs.

In 2018, Indonesia published the first sovereign green in the world sukukRising $ 1.25 billion to finance renewable energy and climate adaptation projects.

Between 2019 and 2023, the government has collected around $ 1.4 billion through interior retail sales Green sukukEngage individual investors in climate financing. This demonstrates the high potential of green sukukboth at the national and international level.

We also see great potential in Islamic social funding. Indonesia zakat The potential is estimated between $ 18 and 25 billion dollars a year. The actual collection remains less than 5% of this potential, there is therefore clearly a large opportunity to strengthen social finance.

UN News: What lessons have you learned over the years and what advice do you have for national or offense governments interested in denominational funding?

Putut Hari Satyaka: Although we have made great progress in denominational funding, we have a lot of room for improvement, improvement and even exploration. Here are some potential lessons:

First and foremost, awareness is the key. As many consider denominational funding as well as community financing, the participation of society in these instruments begins with their understanding of their importance and how money will be used.

Second, we see that the close coordination and the concerted actions of the relevant stakeholders are crucial. The overlaps are inevitable without appropriate coordination. This is coordination – including with nourishment governments, where we see the room for improvement in order to broaden the denominational funding in Indonesia.

Finally, strengthening confidence takes time. Confessional financing is strongly based on public confidence, both in institutions that manage funds and in the way funds are used.

Like many other financing instruments, we have learned that transparency, responsibility and coherent communication are essential to win and maintain this confidence.

“Our country can no longer tolerate children born and grow with HIV, when tools exist to prevent, detect and treat this infection effectively,” said President Félix Tshisekedi at a recent government conference in the southeast province of Lualaba, when he launched the five-year initiative.

Supported by an initial commitment of $ 18 million in national funds, the presidential initiative to put an end to pediatric AIDS will focus on political leadership, strengthening systems and access to inclusive health care, in particular for children, adolescents and pregnant women.

It also align itself well with the global commitments of the DRC in the context of the objective of sustainable development 3 (ODD 3) to ensure a healthy life and promote well-being for all.

Children are lagging behind

The initiative marks a commitment renewed by the DRC to combat the extremely limited access of children to HIV prevention and treatment services.

While the DRC has made significant progress in the response to HIV in adults – 91% of adults living with HIV now have access to antiretroviral treatment – children continue to delay.

Only 44% of children living with HIV in the country are currently receiving vital treatment, a figure that has been unchanged for more than a decade.

Each year, thousands of Congolese children are still infected, often due to a lack of screening in pregnant women, depriving the health system of a crucial opportunity to prevent the transmission of the mother to the child as well as the safeguarding of the life of the mother.

“The eradication of pediatric aid is a moral imperative, an imperative of social justice and an indicator of dignity,” said Tshisekedi.

Four basic priorities

The presidential initiative targets four main areas:

• Improvement of the early detection and treatment of HIV for childrenAdolescents and pregnant women
• Prevent new infections in childrenAdolescents and mothers
• Guarantee systematic and immediate treatment for diagnosed
• Remove structural barriers Make young people’s access to health services

A breath of fresh air

The joint United Nations program on HIV / AIDS (Helpless) praised the initiative as an example of the national leadership necessary to fill the critical gaps in the global HIV response.

Susan Kasedde, director of the Pays de l’Onusids in the DRC, congratulated the initiative as “a breath of fresh air” at a time when funding for global development is under pressure.

“At a time when development funds experiences turbulence and risks compromise the systems that support the most vulnerable, the leadership initiative of President Tshisekedi is a headlight of hope,” she said.

According to UNUSID, Recent financing discounts threaten the critical HIV services, with drug stocks and condoms fearing to run out in a few months. Key areas such as prenatal tests, pediatric processing and data quality monitoring has also been affected.