Awake At Night

Lewis Pugh was never afraid to take the plunge. Now ocean advocate for the United Nations Environment Programme, the record-breaking cold-water swimmer has completed long distance swims at both of the earth's Poles, in the Red Sea, and along the length of the Hudson River, to spread a message of habitat renewal and conservation. "The first thing that happens is I can't breathe and I'm gasping for...

Erasmia Roumana's job requires extraordinary strength. Working in Greece as a protection associate with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, she interviews refugees who have survived devastating shipwrecks at sea after embarking on desperate journeys in search of a better life. "I have seen some very horrible situations. And I always wonder at that moment, how can people survive this? How can people move...

Stephen Jackson fell hard for Africa three decades ago, and never looked back. Now the UN Resident Coordinator in Kenya, he channels his passion into his work, bringing together UN agencies to support the continent in its drive for sustainable development.  "Sometimes in this job, you just end up falling in love with the country where you work. Kenya is a very special place, and I think is a count...

Reena Ghelani knows all too well the jarring silence of a crowded malnutrition ward. Now United Nations Assistant Secretary-General, Famine Prevention and Response Coordinator, she spends every day working on the frontlines of the global fight against hunger. "You expect children to cry if they're suffering, but they don't even have the energy to cry. And the other thing is, I found that the mothe...

What does it take to be a United Nations worker in some of the world's most complex and dangerous places? How are UN humanitarians, human rights advocates, prosecutors, development experts, climate leaders and peacekeepers improving our world?
 Stationed in all reaches of the world and witness to suffering and atrocities, how are they helping people and coping themselves?
 To find out, Melissa Fle...

Growing up in Liberia, Sara Beysolow Nyanti is no stranger to the lasting pain of a country ravaged by recurring violence. As Former Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan, she often encountered the anguish of those bearing the psychological scars of war. "This woman [told me] we have nightmares … And she talked about losing her four children and she said it without crying. My heart...

"It's not just food and assistance, you need to give these children a life, a life of full opportunities… So, I think we're so far from where we need to go, to make the difference." When thousands fled the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, fearing the loss of millions of lives, stayed on. Every day since, the former UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in the...

Cristina Duarte always brings great passion to any task she takes on. Now Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser on Africa, she works tirelessly to help the continent imagine a better tomorrow, one which not only meets its people's needs, but also fulfills their dreams. "The Africa we want is the Africa the world needs … [one that gives Africans] the social space to fully exercise all the ent...

A pediatrician by training, Najat Maalla M'jid has always been dedicated to rescuing children from suffering. Now United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children, she works tirelessly to protect young people around the world. "What I learned in my life, it's the eyes. […] When you are speaking with children, when you have light in their eyes, it's still...

Dr. David Nabarro has dedicated his life to global health. After a long career that's taken him from the horrors of war torn Iraq, to the devastating aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami, he is still spurred to action by the tremendous inequalities in global access to medical care. "The thing that keeps me awake most at night is the rampant inequities in our world…We see an awful lot of needless...

Denise Brown knows what it takes to work under the shadow of war. As UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, she and her team must brave considerable risks as they strive to meet the colossal humanitarian needs of the Ukrainian people in the midst of a brutal war. "The missiles slow us down, but they don't stop us. That's testament to the courage, determination, and experience of the...

Sajjad Malik witnessed terrible suffering during the Syrian crisis. As UNHCR's former representative in the country, he oversaw one of the UN Refugee Agency's toughest and most dangerous operations.  "There are certain images that will stay with me for a very long time. Because those are the images that cannot be forgotten overnight." Since the war in Syria started in 2011 more than 5.7 million pe...

With her writing, Amanda Khozi Mukwashi wants to change the conversation on race, gender, and identity. Now United Nations Resident Coordinator in Lesotho , she has written a book exploring the struggle for equity and the historical baggage of slavery and colonization. "Let's talk about it a little more freely, not for it to hold our hands and tie them, but for it to liberate us to think different...

Ulrika Richardson has dedicated her life to the UN. As resident and humanitarian coordinator in Haiti, her belief in the organization's idealistic values drives her to brave significant dangers in her mission to alleviate the suffering she has witnessed there. "When you see people suffer, those images stay with you … that keeps you awake, and it should keep you awake." Life in Haiti remains precar...

Matilda Bogner's job is to bear witness to unspeakable crimes. As head of the United Nations Human Rights mission in Ukraine , she and her team record accounts of horrific abuses and rights violations in a bid to bring the perpetrators to justice and ease the victims' suffering.  "It's a very complicated job, but it is meeting people and finding out their stories. It's giving voices to victims. Th...

Growing up at a time of war in Bangladesh, Irene Khan learned first-hand how access to trustworthy information can save lives. Now UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression , she advocates for reliable information for all, especially during conflict.   "Access to information from outside the conflict from a source that we felt was verif...

Alfred Orono's childhood came to an abrupt end when he was recruited as a soldier in Uganda, when he was just 11 years old. Now Chief of Child Protection at the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), he draws on his own experience as a child soldier to help young people find a peaceful way forward. "I work with children who, when I look at them, I know exactly what's going on in their min...

Staffan de Mistura has dedicated his life to making a difference . Now the Secretary-General's Personal Envoy for Western Sahara , he spent a large part of his 48-year career at the UN striving for an end to some of the most intractable conflicts of modern times.   " I have no regrets. I would have never chosen another type of job. I think you can [make a difference] even in the worst-case scenari...

Chris Mburu's life was transformed by a small act of kindness . Now the UN Resident Coordinator in the Republic of Congo, he grew up in a Kenyan family struggling to afford his education. That was until a stranger in Sweden offered to pay for him to go to school. "When I look at poverty, it evokes memories of my own childhood. What keeps me going is the desire to keep as many people as possible ou...

Deborah Lyons knows how to keep a cool head in a crisis. In August 2021, when the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan, Deborah, in her former role as Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), was responsible for ensuring the safety of staff across the country, among them many women. "I don't think anyone expected the chaos, the sadness, the carnage, the enormous shock...

Adiba Qasim has shown extraordinary courage and resilience. She narrowly escaped when her village was stormed by Islamic State militants who killed and enslaved thousands of Yazidis. This is her story.      "We were surrounded by the Islamic State. And we had no weapons even to fight. We had nothing. We were left alone."   Returning to northern Iraq in 2015, Adiba threw herself into humanitarian w...

Ugochi Daniels was just six years old when her family fled the civil war in Nigeria. Now the International Organization for Migration's Deputy Director General for Operations , she is often struck by the pain of uprooted children, most recently those escaping from Ukraine.   "I noticed this woman with a 10-year-old boy. He never looked up, his eyes were down, and he never blinked. And I just kept...

Giles Duley used to live the rock'n'roll life of a fashion photographer, but now travels the world's war zones documenting the lives of those caught up in conflict. He stepped on a landmine while working in Afghanistan and lost three of his limbs, and very nearly his life. This is his story.   "It was a miracle I survived that day. I was just lucky, it just wasn't my day to go."   Incredibly fortu...

Serge Brammertz is one of the world's leading international prosecutors. As Chief Prosecutor of the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals , he leads the process of tracking down fugitive criminals from wars in the former Yugoslavia, and the genocide in Rwanda . "Every single person indicted is exactly the opposite of a hero. And the only heroes in fact are the survivors and victi...

Despite monitoring multiple global crises, Rebeca Grynspan has never lost her faith in the power of change. As Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), she is assessing the impact of the war in Ukraine on cash-strapped countries still reeling from the pandemic. "We don't have to be naive, but we have to believe in change, because change has happened. An...