From Hurricane Ivan in Jamaica in 2004 to earthquakes in Peru in 2007 and Haiti in 2010, Raul – chief of the regional office for disaster risk reduction – has developed an acute understanding of what the impact of disasters are, and what can be done to avoid or prevent them. “We continuously face a…
WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said that the latest World Health Statistics check-up – covering data up to 2022 – “sends a stark message on the threat of noncommunicable diseases, which take an immense and increasing toll on lives, livelihoods, health systems, communities, economies and societies”. The report calls for a substantial increase in investments in health…
Reports of gender-based violence (GBV) against girls and women there have increased by 37 per cent during the first three months of the year, compared to the same period a year ago, according to the GBV coordination group for North Kivu. More than 38,000 cases of GBV were reported for all of 2022 in North…
Countries met to review progress on implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction – a landmark 2015 agreement to reduce damage, losses and deaths from natural and man-made hazards by the end of the decade. During the meeting, they adopted a political declaration which in part calls for improving national mechanisms to share disaster risk…
“Now is not the time to be complacent, or to take for granted that Iraq has turned a corner,” said the UN Special Representative for Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert. Achievements range from fighting corruption to advancing energy independence, said Ms. Hennis-Plasschaert, who also heads the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), briefing on recent developments. But…
“Because, in what is a deeply troubled country – grappling with humanitarian catastrophe, climate related disasters, and egregious human rights abuses – too many people have forgotten that Afghanistan is a children’s rights crisis,” he said, warning that the situation is getting worse. Young lives at risk This year, some 2.3 million Afghan boys and…
Adedeji Ebo was briefing the Security Council on the issue of Western weapons supplies to Ukraine, called by permanent member Russia – the fourth time it has been presented for discussion in light of the ongoing conflict. The Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs said the transfers of weapons systems and ammunition from…
That’s the message from UN chief António Guterres ahead of World Telecommunication and Information Society Day on Thursday. Mr. Guterres insisted on the need to confront technology’s perils, including the amplification of economic inequalities, the proliferation of hate speech and disinformation, as well as the lack of governance and unchecked development of artificial intelligence, or…
In addition to a revised request from the UN aid coordination office OCHA for $2.56 billion to fund its Humanitarian Response Plan – targeting some 18 million people in Sudan – the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said that it required $472 million to assist those forced to flee across the country’s borders. The revised joint…
Speaking at the daily press briefing, António Guterres welcomed Russia’s decision to continue its involvement in the Initiative, which has allowed the safe export of more than 30 million tonnes of grain and other foodstuffs from Ukraine, via its Black Sea ports, and also aims to ensure the flow of food and fertilizer from Russia,…
