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Syrian communities devastated by years of civil war now face an “unprecedented” hunger crisis, just as urgent action is needed to prevent COVID-19 from spreading, UN humanitarians said on Friday.

The head of the UN mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is asking the Security Council for its continued support as the mission adds the fight against COVID-19 to its to-do list, while also dealing with a fragile security situation in the east of the country.

Millions of children in the heart of the world’s worst humanitarian disaster could be pushed to the brink of starvation, due to huge shortfalls in humanitarian aid funding amid the coronavirus pandemic, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday. 

New records for extreme lightning bursts, or ‘megaflashes’, during 2019, have been made official, more than doubling the size and duration of the previous record flashes, the UN’s weather agency, WMO, announced on Thursday.

A High-Level Sudan Partnership Conference took place on Thursday gathering some 50 countries and international organizations together in Berlin, generating pledges to bolster the African nation’s economic and political transformation to the tune of $1.8 billion, and discuss the challenges that lie ahead.

Innovation and experimentation are helping a coffee farm in the US state of Hawaii to prosper in a competitive market, an approach which has helped the company to get through the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is projected to be more gradual than previously forecast, according to a report published on Wednesday by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The world is on track to reach 10 million coronavirus cases within the next week, the World Health Organization (WHO) chief executive said on Wednesday, a “sober reminder” that as research continues into therapeutics and vaccines, utmost efforts are needed now to suppress transmission and save lives.

Inclusive education should be a “non-negotiable” right for all children, the head of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said in a new report launched on Tuesday.

Without urgent action, COVID-19 will continue to unravel decades of progress across South Asia, destroying the “hopes and futures of an entire generation”, warns a new report released on Tuesday by the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF.

Stocks of medication for HIV patients could run out in the next two months, because of higher costs linked to lockdowns and COVID-19 border closures, UNAIDS said on Monday.

Conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) is “a brutal crime” that is being exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN chief underscored on Friday, the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict.

A critical warning was issued by the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) on Friday, declaring that it may soon have “no choice” but to suspend “most” of its critical aid flights, because of a lack of funding.

Jobs, livelihoods and the well-being of workers, families and businesses across the globe, continue to take a hit from the COVID-19 pandemic; with micro, small and medium enterprises in particular, suffering the dire economic consequences, according to a new policy brief released by the UN on Friday.

Living in the African mountain kingdom of Lesotho comes with its fair share of challenges, including land degradation and climate change, which are upending traditional farming practices. 

Global displacement reached a staggering 79.5 million people last year - almost double the number of people in crisis registered a decade ago – owing to war, violence, persecution and other emergencies, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Thursday.

The UN Secretary-General has called for “a new contract for nature” to address ongoing global challenges connected to land degradation, such as forced migration, hunger and climate change.

The number of people in Latin America and the Caribbean living in extreme poverty could surpass 83 million this year due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a significant rise in hunger, according to a UN report released on Tuesday.

Trade in many developing countries is expected to take a “nosedive” in the second quarter of 2020, owing to the unprecedented effects of the coronavirus pandemic, UN economists said on Tuesday.

The COVID-19 crisis has caused a dramatic spike in the number of Syrian refugees in need of emergency assistance in the last three months, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday, in an appeal for funding to confront new challenges posed by the health emergency.

Marking International Day of Family Remittances, The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has released a message appealing for “people everywhere” to support migrants, at a time when remittances – the money migrants send home to support their families – have fallen by more than $100 billion, causing hunger, lost schooling and deteriorating health, for tens of millions of families.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to escalate, the World Health Organization (WHO) is concerned about its impact on women, children and young people.

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has issued an urgent appeal for $186 million to provide lifesaving protection and assistance in the Sahel amidst fears that the conflict in the vast African region – exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic – will spread.

Children in the heart of the world’s worst humanitarian disaster need help more than ever, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday, in an appeal for more support to provide basic services in Yemen.

UN chief António Guterres, has warned of an “unparalleled economic shock”, as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. So, going forward, can the private sector “build back better” to reorder the post-pandemic world, or, might the UN’s vision of a sustainable future be relegated to a low-priority aspiration? We put these questions to the CEO of one of the world’s largest conglomerates, who is working with the Organization, towards a better future.

Managing the digital divide better, has become “a matter of life and death” for people unable to access essential healthcare information during the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN chief has told a virtual high-level meeting on rapid technological change.

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) heard strong appeals on Tuesday for more funds to be steered into the UN’s COVID-19 Global Humanitarian Response Plan, as it opened its annual Humanitarian Affairs Segment – the first to be held via video-teleconference.

Even as countries buckle under the devastating social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, they must consider the links between gender inequality and crisis, particularly in communities affected by climate change and conflict.

Help and funding are needed urgently for millions of people in Nigeria who have been hit severely by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, including conflict-hit communities “on life-support” in the north-east, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.

How can agriculture become better able to resist major international shocks such as climate change, and health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic?