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Support Afghans in their most perilous hour, urges UN’s Guterres
The international community should urgently offer a “lifeline” to millions of vulnerable Afghans “who face perhaps their most perilous hour”, the UN Secretary-General said on Monday.
Guterres: South-South cooperation ‘more essential than ever’
The UN Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) held a high-level virtual panel discussion on Friday focused on boosting solidarity “in support of a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable future”.
Yemen: As conflict drags on, ‘no quick wins’ – UN envoy
The complexities of the years-long war in Yemen “multiply as the conflict drags on”, the country’s new UN envoy told the Security Council on Friday, adding that he was “under no illusions about the difficulty of the task” at hand.
Hunger spikes in Haiti following deadly earthquake
Around 980,000 Haitians in the four districts most affected by the August 14 earthquake are now living with acute food insecurity, according to new UN food security data released on Thursday.
COVID-19: ‘Unacceptable’ deals and delays, hampering lifesaving COVAX deliveries
While 80 per cent of citizens in high and upper-middle income nations have had a dose of COVID-19 vaccine, that figure stands at just 20 per cent for those living below the top tiers, according to a joint statement issued by UN and partner agencie
Climate action: Guterres hails Latin American and Caribbean leadership
The UN chief on Wednesday commended the leadership of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean on climate action.
From locusts to cyclones: the human cost of interlinked disasters
Many extreme environmental events have a devastating effect on people’s lives, and a new UN report reveals that many of them are linked by the same underlying causes.
Human activity the common link between disasters around the world, says UN report
Disasters such as cyclones, floods, and droughts are more connected than we might think, and human activity is the common thread, a UN report released on Wednesday reveals.
UN warns of ‘urgent imperative’ to avoid acute Afghan food insecurity
With food aid running out, Afghanistan is facing the collapse of basic services, said UN agencies on Tuesday, releasing a flash appeal for more than $600 million to support around 11 million across the crisis-wracked country to the end of the year
‘Unprecedented funding gap’ for 7 million facing hunger in Ethiopia: WFP
The World Food Programme (WFP) is facing an unprecedented funding gap of $426 million for its operation in Ethiopia, as the UN agency ramps up delivery to meet the needs of up to 12 million people this year.
Blue sky thinking: 5 things to know about air pollution
Around 90 per cent of people go through their daily lives breathing harmful polluted air, which has been described by the United Nations as the most important health issue of our time.
Drop coal or climate change will ‘wreak havoc’ across economy, Australia told
Climate change will “wreak havoc” across the Australian economy if coal is not rapidly phased out, a senior UN official warned on Monday.
Climate action essential to cool ‘season of fire and floods’ worldwide: Deputy UN chief
With extreme weather events increasingly impacting countries across the world, the deputy UN chief on Monday underlined the importance of limiting temperature rise to the internationally agreed goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial leve
Afghanistan: UN humanitarian chief calls for ‘rights…well-being’ of women
Women in Afghanistan play a “critical role” in delivering aid, the UN Humanitarian told the leadership of the Taliban in Kabul on Sunday, calling on all parties to “ensure their rights, safety and well-being”.
Syria: Prevent ‘entire generation from being lost’, urges UN humanitarian chief
Some 13.4 million Syrians throughout the beleaguered country are in need of assistance, the UN humanitarian office said on Saturday, calling for “greater access and expanded funding”, to better help them.
FROM THE FIELD: Bringing aid to Haiti, a country at breaking point
Humanitarian workers supporting relief efforts in Haiti following the devastation caused by a 7.2-magnitude earthquake, are contending with widespread insecurity, including gang violence, as well as logistical challenges, as they try to reach hund
Haiti earthquake: Waterborne disease poses new threat to children
A crippling earthquake followed by plummeting rains have put some 540,000 children in southwest Haiti at risk of life-threatening waterborne diseases, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has warned.
‘Major’ humanitarian crisis looms in Afghanistan, UNHCR warns
A major humanitarian crisis is looming in Afghanistan, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, warned again on Friday, amid ongoing uncertainty about the situation for vulnerable Afghans seeking shelter across the country's borders.
Lebanon: Almost three-quarters of the population living in poverty
Poverty in Lebanon has drastically increased over the past year and now affects about 74% of the population, warned the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) on Friday.
Air quality improvements from COVID lockdowns confirmed
COVID-19 lockdowns brought rapid and “unprecedented” improvements in air quality in some parts of the world - but not enough to halt climate change caused by global warming, UN weather experts said on Friday.
UN experts urge Afghanistan’s new rulers to prohibit torture ‘in any circumstances’
The UN human rights office called on Thursday for the new Taliban-led authorities of Afghanistan to uphold “the international obligations of the State”, particularly in complying with all provisions of the Convention against Torture, outlawing the
Improving air quality ‘key’ to confronting global environmental crises
With environmental events becoming increasingly interconnected, a new global report on air pollution published by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on Thursday underscores that improved air quality is “key to tackling the triple planetary crisis
Tigray aid situation worsening by the day, warn UN humanitarians
The aid crisis in Ethiopia's Tigray region is worsening, the UN said on Thursday, with stocks of relief aid, cash and fuel “running very low or depleted”.
Afghanistan crisis: Food supply for millions could run out this month
Food stocks in Afghanistan could run out as soon as this month, a senior UN official warned on Wednesday, urging the international community to step up support for the country.
4.1 billion lack social safety net, warns UN labour agency
More than four billion people live without any welfare protection today to cushion them from crisis, the UN International Labour Organization (ILO) said on Wednesday, while highlighting how the COVID-19 crisis has pushed up government spending by
Climate and weather related disasters surge five-fold over 50 years
Over the past five decades, disasters related to weather, climate or water hazards, have become a regular occurrence, responsible for the deaths of at least 115 people, and causing $202 million in economic loses every day, according to a new repor
Despite funding shortages, UN committed to staying in Afghanistan
UN humanitarians have reiterated that they fully intend to stay and deliver to those in need in Afghanistan, as mostly western governments completed their pull-out from the country.
End of leaded fuel use globally a ‘milestone for multilateralism’
The global phase-out of leaded fuel represents a “milestone for multilateralism”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday, marking the end of a 20-year campaign to eliminate a major threat to the health of people and the planet.
Secretary-General calls for bold action to end biodiversity crisis
With one million species at risk of extinction, UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday called for greater leadership and political will to end the biodiversity crisis.
UN health agency secures life-saving medical supplies to Afghanistan
Lifesaving medical supplies reached Afghanistan by air on Monday, the first UN shipment to arrive since the Taliban takeover more than a week ago, as UN human rights experts called on the country's new rulers to live up to their promise to fully p