News
UN emergency relief chief ends Ukraine visit, pledging solidarity
15 December 2022
In Ukraine, the UN’s top emergency relief official on Thursday pledged solidarity with the embattled country and its people, as they try to rebuild their lives amid the ongoing war.
Step up investment to ensure water and sanitation access for all
14 December 2022
Countries must ramp up investments to provide safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) to all people by 2030, the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners said on Wednesday in a bid to save more lives.
Ukraine: Winter's downward spiral documented by UN agencies
14 December 2022
Nine months after Russia invaded Ukraine, rural households are increasingly forced to scale down or abandon agricultural activities, according to a new survey released on Wednesday by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
UN chief ‘deeply saddened’ by flood-triggered deaths in DR Congo
14 December 2022
The UN chief is “deeply saddened” by the loss of life and heavy damage triggered in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) during the worst floods to hit the country since 2019, his spokesperson said on Wednesday.
UN reproductive health agency appeals for $1.2 billion to support crisis-affected women and girls
13 December 2022
Amid rising humanitarian needs worldwide, the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA, on Tuesday launched a $1.2 billion appeal to support 66 million women, girls and young people in 65 countries affected by crisis.
Global trade growth turns negative after record year: UNCTAD
13 December 2022
Global trade is set to reach almost $32 trillion this year, but inflation has reversed some of the gains made in recent months.
Somalia: Famine narrowly averted – so far, warn UN humanitarians
13 December 2022
In Somalia, a full-blown famine has been narrowly averted for now, but the hunger emergency has not gone away, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
UN honours pioneering initiatives to restore ecosystems worldwide
13 December 2022
Ten initiatives from around the globe, which together aim to restore more than 68 million hectares of land and coastlines, have been recognized by the UN for their role in preventing and reversing the degradation of natural habitats across the pla
Ukraine: Countries must support resilient recovery to prevent ‘cascade’ of poverty, hunger
13 December 2022
The war in Ukraine is a “relentless humanitarian nightmare” said the UN chief on Tuesday, warning that the death and destruction afflicting civilians there will take years to overcome, and rebuild.
World Cup joins team UN to kick-off Universal Health Coverage Day
12 December 2022
To mark Universal Health Coverage Day on Monday, the UN is sharing the spotlight with the biggest sporting event in the world this week - the FIFA World Cup semi-finals.
No time to waste, as Haiti famine risk rises, warns UN emergency food aid agency
11 December 2022
With armed gangs in charge of key transport routes in Haiti, the country could see famine conditions, unless a robust humanitarian aid plan is put in place, the head of the World Food Programme (WFP) in Haiti, Jean-Martin Bauer, has warned.
More than 11,000 children killed or injured in Yemen conflict: UNICEF
11 December 2022
More than 11,000 boys and girls have been killed or injured in the war in Yemen - an average of four a day since fighting escalated in 2015, though the number is likely to be far higher, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has reported.
‘Just Transition’ policies needed to create 20 million green jobs: UN report
9 December 2022
Some 20 million jobs could be created by investing in policies that support nature and address climate change, disaster risk, food insecurity, and other major challenges, according to a UN report published on Friday.
‘Just Transition’ policies needed to create 20 million green jobs: UN report
9 December 2022
Some 20 million jobs could be created by investing in policies that support nature and address climate change, disaster risk, food insecurity, and other major challenges, according to a UN report published on Friday.
UN Emergency Response Fund, a ‘lifeline of hope’ to meet record needs
9 December 2022
As humanitarian needs soar to unprecedented levels, top UN officials on Friday highlighted the importance of the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) in supporting emergencies and responding rapidly to crises.
Countries held the line against malaria cases and deaths in 2021: WHO report
8 December 2022
Despite the continued impact of COVID-19, malaria cases and deaths remained stable throughout last year, according to new data released on Thursday by the World Health Organization (WHO).
With ocean in ‘dire straits’, Law of the Sea more relevant than ever: Guterres
8 December 2022
The adoption by most nations of the world of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 40 years ago, was a “vital step to bring governance and order” to the vast collective treasure that is the ocean, said the UN chief António Guterres on Thursday.<
UN taps potential for trust-building on shared water resources
8 December 2022
A UN-led push for greater cross-border cooperation over increasingly finite water resources, made significant progress on Thursday, after it was announced that more than 30 governments and organizations have decided to work together on the issue.<
UN taps potential for trust-building on shared water resources
8 December 2022
A UN-led push for greater cross-border cooperation over increasingly finite water resources, made significant progress on Thursday, after it was announced that more than 30 governments and organizations have decided to work together on the issue.<
Cholera’s continued spread in Haiti a ‘worrying trend’
8 December 2022
As cholera continues to spread in Haiti, a $145 million appeal to support the response is only 16 per cent funded, the top UN aid official there reported on Thursday.
UN agencies warn again of record hunger next year in West and Central Africa
8 December 2022
The number of hungry people in West and Central Africa could reach a record high of 48 million next year, which should serve as a final “wake-up call” for regional governments to act now, three UN agencies said on Thursday.
UN chief urges governments and business to step up action to protect nature
7 December 2022
Governments and the private sector must move to effectively protect the natural environment, Secretary-General António Guterres told journalists covering the UN biodiversity conference, COP15, in Montréal, Canada, on Wednesday.
Drought, conflict force 80,000 Somalis to shelter in Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camps
6 December 2022
Tens of thousands of people have sought shelter in recent weeks at Kenya’s Dadaab camps, forced from their homes by extremist violence in neighbouring Somalia and an “unrelenting” drought, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Tuesday.
Ukraine: ‘Senseless war’ has triggered ‘colossal torment’: Griffiths to Security Council
6 December 2022
The torment being unleashed by Russia’s “senseless war”, on the people of Ukraine and beyond, is “colossal”, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator told the Security Council on Tuesday.
Record support brings ‘hope for a brighter future’ for forcibly displaced: UNHCR
6 December 2022
Governments around the world pledged $1.13 billion on Tuesday to provide a lifeline to people displaced by war, violence and human rights violations, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Tuesday.
Developing countries face ‘impossible trade-off’ on debt: UNCTAD chief
6 December 2022
Spiralling debt in low and middle-income countries has compromised their chances of sustainable development, the head of UN trade facilitation agency UNCTAD has warned.
‘Without nature, we have nothing’: UN chief sounds alarm at key UN biodiversity event
6 December 2022
The UN’s key biodiversity conference, COP15, began on Tuesday in Montreal, Canada, where negotiators will set new targets and goals aimed at arresting the alarming destruction of nature, due by human activity.
Developing countries face ‘impossible trade-off’ on debt: UNCTAD chief
6 December 2022
Spiralling debt in low and middle-income countries has compromised their chances of sustainable development, the head of UN trade facilitation agency UNCTAD has warned.
Young people’s leadership, drive for justice, the best signals of hope that biodiversity loss can be halted
6 December 2022
Secretary-General António Guterres on Tuesday denounced the existing global financial system as “morally bankrupt” and called on youth leaders gathered for a UN summit in Montreal, Canada, to push for justice so that all countries, especially in t
Ukraine: Missile strikes threaten millions facing cold and hungry winter
5 December 2022
A UN Spokesperson said on Monday that another wave of missile strikes in Ukraine has further damaged the country’s energy system, leaving millions of people without electricity and water as temperatures dip below freezing.