Which global problem keeps you up at night?
That's what we asked Amina J. Mohammed, the deputy secretary-general of the United Nations at the Global Goals Awards ceremony in New York City last week.
It"s not an easy question to answer in a world buffeted by disasters: hurricanes, earthquakes, famine and refugee crises.
But without skipping a beat, Mohammed, a Nigerian diplomat who is No. 2 in command at the U.N., said:
"Myanmar. That for me is horrendous. Leadership [politician and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi] should know better – that's been her fight for human rights. What is happening on her watch is unfathomable. We're reaching out and talking to her and trying to stop what's going on in Myanmar, and what it's doing as people run across the borders. Climate issues and the stress we're putting upon our world. We need to stop being polite and say: We gotta move on this. It's catching up to you."
Later that evening, Mohammed repeated part of our question and her answer in a speech to the global-conscious activists and VIPs at the gala.
A couple of those guests also shared their concerns with NPR. Will.I.Am, producer and front man for the group Black Eyed Peas and the founder of a charity that provides college scholarships to low-income youth in the U.S., said he was worried about education. "It solves all our problems, from poverty to environmental issues," he said.
And YouTube megastar Casey Neistat, who recently helped raise more than $2 million for victims of famine in Somalia, said he was thinking about "families in rural Somalia who can't even get drinkable water."
Now we'd like to ask our audience that question. Of all the things happening in the world today, what's the global issue that keeps you up at night? Why?
Submit your question in the tool below:
We'd like to hear from you by Tuesday, October 3. We'll share some of your submissions in a blog post on NPR Goats and Soda later this month.
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