News | UNDB

Our news page provides you with a round up of UN news related to economic development, humanitarian aid, climate change, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). You will find the summary of news articles together with a link to the news source.

None of us is safe until we all are, says UN chief at EU push to end COVID-19 pandemic

04 May 2020

The “most massive public health effort in history” is needed to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN chief said on Monday, addressing a European Union pledging conference in Brussels.

COVID-19 pandemic exposes global ‘frailties and inequalities’: UN deputy chief

03 May 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic which has swept across the developed and developing world is “exposing the frailties and inequalities of our societies,” according to the UN Deputy Secretary-General.

Millions of missing airmiles: How the UN civil aviation agency is helping airlines take off again

01 May 2020

In normal times, the world’s airlines would be carrying nearly 2 billion international passengers this year. That’s 5.7 million a day. But with the COVID-19 pandemic gripping the planet, these are not normal times. In its latest analysis of the economic impact of novel coronavirus on global commercial aviation, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) warns of a potential overall reduction of 872 million to just over 1.3 billion international passengers – if signs of recovery emerge in late May.

Vaccine bottlenecks from COVID lockdown put children’s lives at stake: UNICEF

01 May 2020

Help is needed urgently to distribute vaccines worldwide amid dramatic shortages because of COVID-19 restrictions, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday. It has warned that youngsters’ lives “are at stake” owing to the dramatic decline in commercial flights and limited availability of charters.

UN chief calls for ‘solidarity, unity and hope’ in battling COVID-19 pandemic

30 Apr 2020

Amidst the destruction of the of COVID-19 pandemic, the United Nations chief expressed concern over a lack of “sufficient solidarity” with the world’s developing countries, that need support in responding to the worst economic and social crisis in generations.

Coronavirus lockdown casts harsh light on our data and privacy online

29 Apr 2020

A third of all nations lack laws to protect their citizen’s online data and privacy, despite an 11 per cent uptick in the global adoption of data protection and privacy legislation since 2015, the United Nations’ trade, investment and development body (UNCTAD) said on Wednesday.

FROM THE FIELD: Women act as ‘agents of change’ in climate emergency

29 Apr 2020

Women around the world can act as “agents of change” and find solutions to the challenges provoked by the global climate crisis, according to the UN’s specialized gender agency, UN Women.

Nearly half of global workforce at risk as job losses increase due to COVID-19: UN labour agency

29 Apr 2020

Some 1.6 billion people employed in the informal economy – or nearly half the global workforce - could see their livelihoods destroyed due to the continued decline in working hours brought on by lockdowns to curb the spread of COVID-19, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said on Wednesday.

As pandemic encroaches on Abyei, tensions rise over disputed territory straddling Sudan, South Sudan

28 Apr 2020

Sudan’s efforts to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, are delaying the deployment of fresh United Nations police units in Abyei and the border regions between Sudan and South Sudan, the UN’s peacekeeping chief told the Security Council on Tuesday

Parallel threats of COVID-19, climate change, require ‘brave, visionary and collaborative leadership’: UN chief

28 Apr 2020

To combat the COVID-19 pandemic and the “looming existential threat of climate disruption”, the only credible response is “brave, visionary and collaborative leadership” anchored in mutilateralism, the UN Secretary General António Guterres, said on Tuesday, during an international discussion focused on climate change.

Protect workers during and after lockdowns, urges UN labour agency

27 Apr 2020

Marking the World Day for Safety and Health at Work, the International Labour Organization (ILO) has urged States to take action to prevent and control COVID-19 in the workplace.

COVID-19: New women-led UN initiative aims to save lives and protect livelihoods

27 Apr 2020

Against the backdrop of the unprecedented global crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the deputy UN chief briefed journalists on Monday about a new women-led initiative that mobilizes support to save lives and protect livelihoods.

Protect civilians in the Sahel and Lake Chad regions, urges UN refugee agency

23 Apr 2020

An upsurge in military action against armed groups in West Africa’s vast Sahel and Lake Chad regions has prompted the United Nations refugee agency to call on all warring parties to protect people caught up in the violence.

Fall in COVID-linked carbon emissions won’t halt climate change - UN weather agency chief

22 Apr 2020

An expected drop in greenhouse gas emissions linked to the global economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is only “short-term good news”, the head of the UN weather agency said on Wednesday.

COVID-19 pandemic, an ‘unprecedented wake-up call’ for all inhabitants of Mother Earth

22 Apr 2020

In his message for International Mother Earth Day this Wednesday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres acknowledged that all eyes are on the COVID-19 pandemic, which he flagged as “an unprecedented wake-up call”

COVID-19 to cause biggest economic contraction ever in Latin America & Caribbean

21 Apr 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic will herald the worst economic contraction in the history of Latin American and the Caribbean, with a projected -5.3 per cent drop in activity this year, according to a report by the UN office for the region, ECLAC, published on Tuesday.

As famines of ‘biblical proportion’ loom, Security Council urged to ‘act fast’

21 Apr 2020

The world is not only facing “a global health pandemic but also a global humanitarian catastrophe”, the UN food relief agency chief told the Security Council on Tuesday via video link.

Assistance ramped up to DR Congo’s South Kivu as floods kill dozens

21 Apr 2020

Aid is being rushed to eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where deadly flooding has swept away people and homes and affected tens of thousands more, including many displaced by violence, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday

Keep critical food supply chains operating to save lives during COVID-19, urges new UN-backed report

21 Apr 2020

A new study on food insecurity by an alliance of UN, governmental, and non-governmental agencies analyzes what is fueling global food crises and examines how, among other emergencies, the COVID-19 pandemic is perpetuating downward cycle for millions.

UN agencies pledge scaled-up efforts to protect uprooted children as pandemic upends lives

20 Apr 2020

Two UN agency chiefs are pledging to accelerate work to expand refugee children’s access to protection, education, clean water and sanitation, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread across the globe.

UN issues appeal to bolster COVID-19 ‘logistics backbone’ or response could stutter to a halt

20 Apr 2020

The heads of major UN humanitarian agencies and offices have launched an urgent appeal for $350 million to support global aid hubs to help those most at risk during the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19: Actors Idris and Sabrina Elba launch new UN fund for rural farmers

20 Apr 2020

A new global coronavirus relief fund launched on Monday by actor, filmmaker and humanitarian Idris Elba and actress, model and activist Sabrina Dhowre Elba on behalf of the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), aims to reduce the impact of COVID-19 on farmers and rural communities in developing countries.

COVID-19: ‘Phased process’ for lifting restrictions is key, WHO chief urges G20

19 Apr 2020

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) told a virtual meeting of the G20 leading global economies on Sunday that although it was encouraging for some countries to be planning to ease lockdowns against COVID-19, “it is critical that these measures are a phased process”.

UN staff step-up and step-in to support front line heroes battling COVID-19 in New York

19 Apr 2020

A devastating surge in coronavirus cases over the past few weeks in New York City, the epicentre of the COVID-19 pandemic, has prompted United Nations staff to stand in solidarity with their host city, by stepping up support for healthcare workers and others on the front line.

Tough times for tourism, but UN travel organization predicts holiday traffic will return

17 Apr 2020

Tourism may have been brought to a near-standstill by COVID-19, but the industry – which accounts for 10 per cent of global GDP – finds itself in a unique position to help put the global economy back on its feet, once the pandemic has passed.

Africa mobilizing to minimize losses as COVID-19 pandemic continues worldwide advance

15 Apr 2020

From procuring test kits to promoting debt relief, the UN will stand in solidarity with Africa as it braces against the unprecedented economic, social and health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, Secretary-General António Guterres pledged on Wednesday.

Migrants among most vulnerable, as IOM ramps up coronavirus response worldwide

15 Apr 2020

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has expanded the scope of its Global Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP), to include far-reaching interventions that aim to mitigate the dire health and socio-economic impacts of the pandemic, the agency said on Wednesday.

COVID-19: Growth forecast at -3 per cent, as IMF offers debt relief to most vulnerable nations in Africa, Asia, Middle East and Caribbean

14 Apr 2020

Forecasting the “worst economic downturn since the Great Depression”, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday that growth for the year was likely to end up at minus three per cent, with a dramatic change evident since the last World Economic Outlook report in January.

COVID-19: Major relief airlift will reach ‘most vulnerable’ African nations

14 Apr 2020

The first of the UN’s “Solidarity Flights” carrying urgently needed medical equipment to Africa, has arrived in Addis Ababa, agencies said on Tuesday.

COVID-19 isolation threatens live-saving vaccinations for millions of children globally

13 Apr 2020

As countries around the world continue to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 117 million children risk missing out on measles vaccines, two UN agencies warned in Geneva on Tuesday.