The droughts have destroyed harvests in areas where 70 per cent of the population depends on agriculture for survival. Executive Director McCain said what she has seen has been both alarming and heartbreaking. “I met farmers who usually grow enough to feed their families and communities. This year they harvested nothing. Now imagine a similar…
On the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula, marked annually on 23 May, we are taking a look at the important role of midwives and tuning in to UN Radio’s featurette from 1963, The Magic Suitcase, narrated by Hollywood star Jack Benny. The radio and television entertainer joined the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in the 1960s…
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) said that as erratic weather on the back of the worsening climate crisis “becomes the norm”, things will only get worse. This month’s unusually high rainfall followed a dry winter, rendering the ground too hard to absorb water, leading to massive flooding. Unseasonably warm temperatures further complicated the situation…
“Medical staff inside the hospital reported an attack on 20 May, with snipers aiming at the building and an artillery rocket hitting the fifth floor,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X. Some 148 staff and 22 patients and their companions have remained “trapped inside” the hospital since Sunday, the WHO Director-General added, before issuing an…
Speaking at the opening of a two-day meeting on harnessing the power of migration, IOM Director General Amy Pope expressed hope that participants will help deliver prosperity, benefits and innovations for migrants and for their countries of origin and destination. Roughly 281 million people worldwide are one the move, representing around 3.6 per cent of…
The United Nations alone documented over 33,000 civilian deaths in armed conflicts in 2023 – a horrific 72 per cent increase compared to the previous year – Joyce Msuya, UN Deputy Relief Coordinator, told ambassadors at the Security Council. With the actual figures “likely higher”, the harm and suffering caused to civilians in 2023 “signals…
“Relentless aerial attacks continue, prolonging and exacerbating an already dire situation,” said UN refugee agency (UNHCR), spokesperson Shabia Mantoo. “More than two years since Russia’s full-scale invasion, regular shelling and attacks continue to claim lives and destroy homes and critical infrastructure across the country.” Ms. Mantoo noted that in the past week, more than 10,300…
The issue is in the spotlight ahead of the International Day for Biological Diversity, observed annually on 22 May, and covered in the most recent edition of UNU’s Interconnected Disaster Risks report. Among the animals at risk is the gopher tortoise, one of the oldest living species on the planet. This tragic story of biodiversity loss is unfolding at…
HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmitted infections continue as significant public health challenges globally and cause 2.5 million deaths each year: New syphilis cases among adults aged 15-49 increased by over one million in 2022, reaching eight million, and there were 230,000 syphilis-related deaths. The highest increases occurred in the Americas and Africa. Health targets…
The lead author of the World Economic Situations and Prospects mid-year update, the flagship report from DESA released on 16 May, outlines the main findings in an interview with UN News. Hamid Rashid Inflation has come down significantly from the 2022 peak, but not to the extent that central banks can say that they have won the…
