Member countries of the UN World Health Organization (WHO), on the final day of the seventy-seventh World Health Assembly, adopted important amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR), including defining a “pandemic emergency” as well as pledging improved access to medical products and financing. These steps will help ensure comprehensive, robust systems are in place…
The international day on Thursday highlights that theme, as well as the importance of recognition, justice and development opportunities for those of African descent, said Secretary-General António Guterres. He said the results of entrenched racism continue to be devasting: “opportunities stolen; dignity denied; rights violated; lives taken and lives destroyed.” The African diaspora faces a…
“Any food and other emergency aid that comes into Gaza, as we all know, is desperately needed; there is no question about it,” said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for UN aid coordination office, OCHA. “So it’s highly appreciated…But it’s not a substitute for the overland transport of food and other emergency aid into Gaza and particularly…
The World Food Programme announced the operation on Tuesday and warned that lifesaving programmes in Chad will stop because of a funding crunch “in a matter of weeks”. Thousands of Sudan refugees continue to stream over the border into Chad to escape heavy fighting between warring generals that began last April. Around one million…
“Universal meaningful connectivity is within our grasp,” said ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin. “Thanks to these new commitments, millions of people will benefit from accessible and affordable connectivity across the world.” Fresh investments from e&, China Telecom, Ooredoo and VEON build on strong industry support for the UN digital agency’s efforts to “connect the world”, she…
Speaking at a conference on addressing development challenges of middle-income countries (MICs), in Rabat, Morocco, Amina Mohammed said recent crises have laid bare inequalities and exposed stark contrasts. “While developed countries have been able to protect and swiftly support their populations, other countries have been left dependent on the international community and the existing global…
“I was having coffee at home this morning in Kyiv, my neighbours were getting ready for work, children preparing to go to school, when our homes started to shake because of a wave of airstrikes on the Ukrainian capital,” Denise Brown said in a statement. The attacks damaged civilian buildings just next to the UN…
“Yet, out of millions of publications each year, fewer than five per cent are made available in accessible formats for visually impaired persons in developing countries,” he added. The global superstar, who lost his sight shortly after birth, was designated as a Messenger of Peace in 2009 with a focus on persons with disabilities. He…
“Over the last six days, children and families, and the infrastructure they rely on have come under attack in Dnipro, Lviv, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Odesa, and other populated areas”, said Munir Mammadzade. With schools and health facilities destroyed and damaged, “Ukraine’s youngest citizens continue to bear the brunt of these attacks. Our heartfelt thoughts are with…
They are taking part in the 2023 UN Peacekeeping Ministerial, which opens in the capital, Accra, on Tuesday. The two-day meeting aims to secure vital political support and concrete commitments to strengthen UN Peacekeeping efforts to meet current and future challenges and needs, in line with ongoing reform under the Action for Peacekeeping (A4P) framework…
