The icons are used throughout information products developed by and for the humanitarian community, such as maps, reports, infographics and websites.
UNITED NATIONS, April 6 (Xinhua) -- The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has released a set of 29 humanitarian icons specific to the COVID-19 pandemic to boost communication and public awareness.
"In any health or humanitarian crisis, providing streamlined information that millions of people can understand is key," said the OCHA on Monday.
The new icons can help communicate the facts and actions needed to prevent and respond to the virus and provide care for the most vulnerable people around the world, according to the OCHA.
The new icons include symbols for lockdown, social distancing, COVID-19 and coronavirus, infection prevention, testing, infected and case management.
Photo taken on Sept. 22, 2015, shows massive projections on Sustainable Development Goals on the north facade of the Secretariat building, and west facade of the General Assembly building at the United Nations headquarters in New York, the United States. (Xinhua/Li Muzi)
With their easily accessible and universal visual language, icons help humanitarian workers to share complex information during the response to an emergency in a timely and compelling manner. They also help strengthen the coordination of the humanitarian response and the push for solutions, including how to best break the spread of a virus in densely populated refugee camps and informal settings where social distancing and handwashing are out of reach for many, said the OCHA.
The icons are used throughout information products developed by and for the humanitarian community, such as maps, reports, infographics and websites. Better and clearer information means better decision-making and, therefore, more efficient response in humanitarian crises, it said.
The new icons add to a redesigned set of more than 300 humanitarian icons that the OCHA released in December 2018. The OCHA first introduced humanitarian symbols in 2012, comprising a set of 250 icons depicting themes of interest to the humanitarian community, from natural disasters to relief supplies.
(Article by Xinhua Reporter Shang Xuqian; Video by Xinhua Reporter Xie E) ■
