Haiti: Amid rising hunger levels, ‘world cannot wait for disaster before it acts’, WFP warns

Haiti: Amid rising hunger levels, ‘world cannot wait for disaster before it acts’, WFP warns

“Haiti can’t wait,” said Jean-Martin Bauer, World Food Programme (WFP) Country Director for the country. “We cannot wait for the scale of the problem to be expressed in deaths before the world responds, but that is where we are heading.” Half the population – 4.9 million people – are now struggling to access food, according…

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UN’s nuclear agency and food and agriculture wing announce key commitments to tackle global water crisis

UN’s nuclear agency and food and agriculture wing announce key commitments to tackle global water crisis

A worldwide network of water analysis laboratories and a tool to foster collective national level action to improve coordination on water management, were among the commitments announced on Thursday by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on the margins of the UN 2023 Conference, which has been…

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Uganda: UN rights chief calls on President not to sign anti-homosexuality bill

Uganda: UN rights chief calls on President not to sign anti-homosexuality bill

The UN rights chief called on Uganda’s President, Yoweri Museveni, not to sign the bill into law, saying that it would mean lesbian, gay and bisexual people in Uganda will become criminals simply “for existing, for being who they are“. He warned the legislation would lead to “systematic” human rights violations.  Adopted by Uganda’s parliament…

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Tanzania confirms first-ever outbreak of deadly Marburg Virus Disease

Tanzania confirms first-ever outbreak of deadly Marburg Virus Disease

Lab tests were carried out after eight people in the region developed symptoms of the “highly virulent” disease, including fever, vomiting, bleeding, and kidney failure. Five of the eight confirmed cases have died, including a health worker, and the remaining three are being treated. The agency also identified 161 contacts of those infected, who are…

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Access to chronic disease medication ‘still out of reach for many’: WHO report

Access to chronic disease medication ‘still out of reach for many’: WHO report

Access to NCD Medicines: Emergent Issues During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Key Structural Factors, highlights the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to NCD medicines, and the policies and strategies implemented by countries to both anticipate and mitigate the disruption that has hit medical supply chains. Pandemic shortages During the pandemic, people living with cancer, heart diseases, chronic…

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Crystalize recent diplomatic shifts, top UN envoy urges Israelis, Palestinians

Crystalize recent diplomatic shifts, top UN envoy urges Israelis, Palestinians

“This should be a period for safe and peaceful religious reflection and celebration for all,” said Tor Wennesland, the UN’s Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process. Diplomatic engagement The Special Coordinator recalled that, on 26 February, senior officials from Jordan, Egypt, Israel, Palestine and the United States met in Aqaba, Jordan, to reaffirm…

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UN Water Conference: More investment crucial to access water, sanitation, hygiene for all

UN Water Conference: More investment crucial to access water, sanitation, hygiene for all

Some two billion people still have no access to safe drinking water and 3.6 billion, use sanitation services that leave human waste untreated. Access to safe water and sanitation offer a pathway to social and economic progress by supporting community health and productivity. From solutions to actions The world needs to progress four times faster…

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Guterres warns of ‘catastrophic’ consequences of a world without glaciers

Guterres warns of ‘catastrophic’ consequences of a world without glaciers

Secretary-General António Guterres told a conference side event dedicated to the issue of preserving the world’s glaciers that new data released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) showed global average sea levels have already risen faster since 1900, “than over any preceding century in the last 3,000 years.” ‘Erased forever’ He said that “low-lying communities and entire countries could be…

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