‘Now is the time to unleash Africa’s peace power’ Guterres tells Security Council

‘Now is the time to unleash Africa’s peace power’ Guterres tells Security Council

“Now is the time to unleash Africa’s peace power,” he said, opening a debate on its critical role in addressing global security and development challenges, convened by Mozambique, the Council president for May.  Calling Africa “an important voice for the global good”, he cited examples of how the continent has shown “unity and solidarity in…

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Afghanistan is ‘not a hopeless crisis’, top UN aid official says

Afghanistan is ‘not a hopeless crisis’, top UN aid official says

Afghanistan is “not a hopeless crisis,” Edem Wosornu of the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, told journalists in New York, following a recent visit to the country, Pakistan and war-wracked Sudan.  Ms. Wosornu was part of an all-woman delegation in Afghanistan, where the climate crisis has caused widespread water scarcity, generating new food, health, and…

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World News in Brief: ‘Appalling’ attacks in Kharkiv, plea to aid Myanmar civilians, maritime tribunal boosts climate action, civilian protection

World News in Brief: ‘Appalling’ attacks in Kharkiv, plea to aid Myanmar civilians, maritime tribunal boosts climate action, civilian protection

Denise Brown said civilian lives must be protected during conflict by all sides, but in Kharkiv in recent days, they have instead been targeted in their homes, with businesses and transport links damaged and attacked. “My thoughts are with the families who have lost their loved ones due to the strikes,” she said, adding that…

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‘Critical gaps’ in understanding climate change fuel tropical disease spread

‘Critical gaps’ in understanding climate change fuel tropical disease spread

The World Health Organization (WHO) study, conducted in partnership with Reaching the Last Mile (RLM), a global health initiative to eliminate neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), found that rising temperatures and changing weather patterns are altering the spread of vector-borne diseases, posing significant health risks. As the geographical spread of disease vectors like mosquitoes expand, the…

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World News in Brief: Food aid reaches Haitians, UN chief condemns attack on Slovakian leader, Russian strikes drive influx of evacuees in Ukraine

Haiti’s health system pushed to breaking point: UNICEF

There are only six out of ten hospitals which still have some operational capacity as the gang-led chaos continues across the capital, Port-au-Prince, leaving vulnerable children deprived of essential care. Mr. Maes said that the increased violence along with “mass displacement, dangerous epidemics and increasing malnutrition” has stretched the country’s health system to the limit and…

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Droughts and floods threaten ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ across southern Africa

Droughts and floods threaten ‘humanitarian catastrophe’ across southern Africa

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…

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Ukraine: humanitarian, health needs soar as Kharkiv hostilities intensify

Ukraine: humanitarian, health needs soar as Kharkiv hostilities intensify

“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…

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