According to a new report from the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), in 2022 alone, over 140 disasters struck the region, leading to over 7,500 deaths. They impacted 64 million people, and caused economic damage estimated at $57 billion. Under a 2°C warming scenario, the ESCAP projects an increase…
“About half of the world’s population is at risk of dengue, and dengue affects approximately 129 countries,” said Dr Raman Velayudhan, WHO’s Head of the Global Programme on control of Neglected Tropical Diseases. “We estimate that about 100 to 400 million cases are reported every year. This is basically an estimate and the American region alone…
Fionnuala Ni Aolain, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, is the first independent rights expert to gain access to the infamous facilities Al Hol and Al Raj, as well as other places of detention. After her six-day visit to northeast Syria, Ms. Ni Aolain said…
Since the outbreak of the conflict, tens of thousands have lost their lives, many more have been wounded, and millions displaced within Ukraine and outside its borders. “We must remember that behind every number lies a mother, a father, a child, a grandparent. To turn a blind eye would be an affront to the memory…
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that while ambition, urgency and solidarity have been lacking to overcome the myriad challenges, many countries are now staring into “a financial abyss”, strangling the resources needed to realize the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. “The annual SDG funding gap has risen from $2.5 trillion before the pandemic to an…
Photo courtesy of Reuters News Agency North Korean leader Kim Jong Un His sister accused America of espionage. According to foreign media, Kim Jong-un’s sister, Kim Yo-jong, has accused the American spy plane of entering North Korea’s airspace 8 times. He termed this move as an illegal intervention and said that the US forces may…
The UN chief expressed deep concern at the extreme vulnerability faced by the Haitian people – especially women and girls – because of brutally violent and “predatory” armed gangs, like those encircling the capital, blocking main roads and controlling access to water, food, health care. “I condemn in the strongest possible terms the widespread sexual violence…
Speaking from Kinshasa, Dr. Jorge Castilla, WHO’s Senior Emergency Officer, told journalists at the regular briefing in Geneva there had been a major increase in displacement due to ongoing violence fuelled by armed groups, leaving around 7.4 million in need of health assistance. Disease and displacement Since March 2022, almost three million people have been…
Briefing correspondents at UN Headquarters in New York just a few days after visiting Haiti along with the head of the World Food Programme (WFP), Catherine Russell said “the current situation of insecurity is unacceptable. “Women and children are dying. Schools and public spaces should always be safe. Collectively the world is failing the Haitian…
“The war in Ukraine has created a humanitarian and human rights catastrophe, traumatized a generation of children, and accelerated the global food and energy crises,” said Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. “We cannot discount further dangerous knock-on effects,” she cautioned, citing urgent concerns, from rising death tolls to nuclear threats. Worsening conditions The impact…
