Kathmandu, 5 November: The United Nations Department of Peace Operations announced that Superintendent Sangya Malla of Nepal, currently serving in the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), will be awarded the 2021 United Nations Woman Police Officer of the Year. Superintendent Malla will be presented the award by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres at a virtual ceremony on 9 November. Superintendent Malla currently serves as the Chief of the MONUSCO Police Health and Environment Unit, which she helped establish in the country’s capital, Kinshasa. The unit is responsible for implementing policies and procedures concerning the health and well-being of personnel as well as United Nations Police environmental initiatives. Her contributions have added direct significance in the Democratic Republic of the Congo considering the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and past outbreaks of Ebola virus disease, as well as natural and humanitarian crises such as the volcanic eruption in Goma last May, during which her unit alerted the local population and UN staff of precautionary measures. People's News Monitoring Service