War-torn Syria and neighbouring Türkiye were rocked by twin earthquakes on 6 February, which killed more than 56,000 people and caused widespread destruction, displacing millions. “The situation today is so unprecedented that it calls for leadership, bold ideas and a cooperative spirit,” said Mr. Pedersen, speaking via videoconference from Geneva. “A political solution is…
Briefing correspondents in Geneva at his regular weekly press conference, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that “the claim that the accord will cede power to WHO is quite simply false. It’s fake news.” Countries will decide He made clear that countries themselves will decide the wording and scope of any global agreement on how to tackle the next…
“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…
The UN Water Conference, which opened on Wednesday, is taking place as this vital natural resource is being depleted, polluted and mismanaged. The three-day event – co-hosted by the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Tajikistan – falls at the halfway point for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which include the promise of ensuring all…
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…
“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…
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…
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…
Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo was speaking on Wednesday at a meeting at UN Headquarters to draw attention to the widening financing gap at the year-old operation. “Despite initial generous donor support, contributions have significantly declined, leaving the mission in a dire financial situation,” she said. Contributing to progress ATMIS builds on the work of a previous…
As the UN Water Conference continues at UN headquarters in New York, Simona Marinescu, the UN Resident Coordinator in Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa and Tokelau explains why finding a solution to provide all people access to clean and safe water remains a priority for the UN. “Water is life. No other definition captures quite so aptly…
