Rome UN building will be illuminated with colours of Italian tricolour until end of Covid-19 emergency.

The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is illuminating its Rome headquarters with the green, white and red colours of the Italian tricolour, in a sign of solidarity with its host country as it grapples with the Coronavirus pandemic.

The lights, which were switched on last night, 23 March, will illuminate the building in the Aventino district of the capital until the Covid-19 crisis ends.

"Italy is our host country, and we are deeply grateful for the tremendous support it has been providing to FAO over the last 70 years which has helped the Organization to fulfil its global mandate," said FAO director-general Qu Dongyu.

"In this moment of grave difficulty and concern, we want to express our closeness to the Italian institutions, to the doctors and medical staff fighting the virus on the frontlines, and to the Italian people that are now facing a challenge of unprecedented proportions."

FAO, which was founded 75 years ago and has been based in Rome since 1951, has been working together with its partners to support countries to anticipate and mitigate the impacts of the pandemic on food security and livelihoods.

All Rome-based FAO employees are now working remotely from home, in line with guidelines issued by the Italian government.