News

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.

190 million children at risk from water-related crises: UNICEF

19 Mar 2023

A new analysis from the UN children’s agency, UNICEF, shows that some 190 million children in 10 African countries are at the highest risk from a convergence of three water-related threats – inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH); related diseases; and climate hazards.

Origami hummingbirds to make a splash at UN Water Conference

19 Mar 2023

Flocks of paper origami hummingbirds crafted by children around the world have departed their locations to “attend” the UN Water Conference in New York from 22-24 March, carrying the future generation’s resolve to turn the tide on the global water crisis.

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5 Things You Should Know About the UN 2023 Water Conference

19 Mar 2023

The UN 2023 Water Conference, which takes place at UN Headquarters from 22-24 March, is being hailed as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to accelerate progress towards universal access to safe water and sanitation by 2030.

Don’t give up on Haiti, plead senior UN aid officials

18 Mar 2023

Following their return from a fact-finding visit to Haiti, a group of senior United Nations officials and representatives of NGOs issued an urgent call on Saturday, for increased access and resources to reach people in desperate need.

Black Sea Grain Initiative extended on deadline day

18 Mar 2023

The Black Sea Grain Initiative, a UN-brokered deal aimed at supplying markets with food and fertilizer amid global shortages and rising prices, exacerbated by the Ukraine war, was extended on Saturday, the day it was due to expire.

Funding drought forces UN food agency to cut rations in Afghanistan

17 Mar 2023

The UN food agency in Afghanistan announced on Friday that a lack of funds has forced deep cuts to life-saving assistance in March for at least four million people.

Central Sahel: Lives of 10 million children on the line as conflict rages

17 Mar 2023

Children are increasingly caught up in armed conflict in the climate-affected, food insecure central Sahel region, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Friday.

Ukraine-Russia: Extension of grain export deals vital to global food security

17 Mar 2023

The war in Ukraine has had very significant implications for global food insecurity, the top UN humanitarian official told the Security Council on Friday, underscoring the critical need to extend landmark agreements to export grain and fertilizer from the region. 

Announcing new youth advisers, Guterres praises their ‘unrelenting’ drive for climate justice

17 Mar 2023

UN Secretary-General António Guterres this week announced the names of seven young climate leaders selected to serve on his Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change.

Embrace green tech revolution or risk falling behind, new UN report warns

16 Mar 2023

Many developing countries may miss out on the benefits of the “green tech” revolution unless governments and the international community take decisive action now, the head of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said on Thursday, releasing its latest report.

Diplomacy in Yemen reaches new pitch following year of relative calm, Security Council hears

15 Mar 2023

With the holy month of Ramadan fast approaching, warring parties in Yemen must build on relative calm across the country and the April 2022 truce – which is largely holding, despite its official lapse in October – to negotiate a nationwide ceasefire and address the dire humanitarian needs there, senior UN officials told the Security Council on Wednesday.

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UN steps up support to Malawi following deadly cyclone

15 Mar 2023

The UN and partners are ramping up support to Malawi in the wake of Tropical Cyclone Freddy, which killed 190 people this week and injured dozens more, prompting the Government to declare a state of disaster. 

UN officials call for durable solution to end the war in Syria

15 Mar 2023

Three senior UN officials underscored the need for a political solution to end the war in Syria, in statements marking the 12th anniversary of the conflict on Wednesday. 

Urgent investment needed to improve conditions for key workers: ILO

15 Mar 2023

Essential workers who kept families, societies and economies going while the world was on COVID lockdown, need better pay and conditions urgently, if countries are to future-proof themselves from the next global crisis, UN labour experts said on Wednesday.

In Lebanon, UN deputy chief explores first-hand, challenges facing children and persons with special needs

14 Mar 2023

During a visit to a center for street children in Beirut, Lebanon, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said: “Children should be allowed to be children. They should enjoy their rights to education, to health, to safe environment and to not feeling the pressures of an adult at a child’s age.”

Think local, says new FAO report, pointing towards ‘hunger-free and healthy’ Europe, Central Asia

14 Mar 2023

Eight UN agencies on Tuesday published a new report aimed at helping countries address chronic food insecurity and nutrition crises across Europe and Central Asia, made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine.

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More than half of all Syrians going hungry: WFP

14 Mar 2023

More than half of the population in Syria is facing hunger as the country grapples with 12 years of war and recent devastating earthquakes, the World Food Programme (WFP) reported on Tuesday. 

UN deputy chief warns of faltering progress towards SDGs

14 Mar 2023

Multiple interconnected global crises are putting achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at risk - both in the Arab region and the rest of the world, UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed warned on Tuesday. 

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UN stresses ‘full commitment’ to Ukraine grain deal as Russia offers 60-day extension

13 Mar 2023

The UN chief on Monday confirmed the UN would “do everything possible to preserve the integrity” of the Black Sea Grain Initiative – the deal agreed between Ukraine and Russia last July that is due to expire in just a few days.

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Sticking to ‘cold, hard’ climate facts can end global warming: Guterres

13 Mar 2023

World leaders need to listen to and act on solid scientific guidance to urgently reduce global warming, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in a video message at the opening of the new session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on Monday.

Step up support to Syria-Türkiye earthquake survivors: UN refugee chief

13 Mar 2023

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, on Monday underlined the need for greater and urgent international support for survivors of the recent deadly earthquakes in Syria and Türkiye following a five-day visit to the two countries. 

First Person: ‘Nepal is ready for its next chapter’

12 Mar 2023

Nepal is due to graduate from its current status, as one of the world’s least developed countries, in 2026. Subhash Nepali, an economist in the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office in Nepal, has seen the economic progress made in the country, where he was born and raised.

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INTERVIEW: São Tomé and Príncipe readies for graduation day

11 Mar 2023

São Tomé and Príncipe is due to graduate from its current status as one of the world’s Least Developed Countries (LDCs), a journey that is testament to its economic successes, but is not without challenges, as Eric Overvest, the senior UN official in the country, tells UN News.

Ukraine: UN aid trucks reach frontline town of Chasiv Yar

10 Mar 2023

A three-truck convoy of aid from UN agencies reached the Ukrainian town of Chasiv Yar on Friday, close to the most intense battle of the war on the eastern front, for the shattered city of Bakhmut.

Syria: Guterres demands ‘renewed energy’ for peace as war enters 12th year

10 Mar 2023

Support provided to Syria following the recent deadly earthquakes must be directed towards finding a political solution to the civil war, now entering its 12th year, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Friday.   

Horn of Africa hunger emergency: ‘129,000 looking death in the eyes’

10 Mar 2023

Life-threatening hunger caused by climate shocks, violent insecurity and disease in the Horn of Africa, have left nearly 130,000 people “looking death in the eyes” and nearly 50 million facing crisis levels of food insecurity, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.

First Person: Vulnerable Ukrainian farmers plough a self-sufficient furrow

10 Mar 2023

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) ramped up its support for vulnerable workers in the Ukrainian agricultural sector, particularly smallholder farmers.

A pinch (less) of salt can save lives, WHO says in new report

09 Mar 2023

Implementing sodium reduction policies could save an estimated seven million lives globally by 2030, WHO said in a new report launched on Thursday.

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The LDC graduation pathway must not disrupt overall sustainable development, says UN deputy chief

09 Mar 2023

The least developed countries (LDCS) are facing a pathway to graduation from the category that will be “riddled with added crises,” UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed on Thursday, and urged the international community to work together so those countries can build resilience to effectively recover from current and future shocks and sustain progress. 

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Vessel to remove oil from stricken Yemen tanker could arrive by May

09 Mar 2023

UN-led efforts to prevent a catastrophic oil spill in the Red Sea took a major step forward on Thursday with the announcement of a deal to purchase a vessel that will remove more than a million barrels of oil from a decaying supertanker that has threatened the region for years.