News

International demand for patents hit a record high last year, as innovators in China, the United States, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Germany, sought to protect their inventions, said the UN agency that polices the process worldwide, on Tuesday.

Although cascading global crises are undermining hard fought development gains, “now is not the time for despair", UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed told African ministers and policy makers meeting in Niamey, Niger, on Tuesday. 

Lifesaving aid is needed urgently to help millions of people enduring one of the  longest and most severe droughts on record in the Horn of Africa, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Tuesday, as the region enters its sixth consecutive rainy season with no rain.

Water is life, yet this vital natural resource is being depleted, polluted and mismanaged. Disruption to the hydrological cycle is also causing more water-related disasters. To tackle the challenges, the United Nations will convene in March one of the most important water events in history at its Headquarters in New York. 

There are “no words” to explain the level of suffering of people in Türkiye following the hugely destructive earthquake which hit the country - as well as Syria - in early February, says Alvaro Rodriguez, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Türkiye.

Donors are meeting in Geneva on Monday to raise $4.3 billion to provide support and protection for 17.3 million people in war-torn Yemen, which remains among the world’s most severe humanitarian crises. 

In rural areas of The Gambia, job opportunities are scarce, but villagers like Guidom Sabally are benefiting from practical training, gaining recognized qualifications, and setting up successful small businesses in their communities.

A global surge of cholera cases has put one billion people in 43 countries at risk, the World Health Organization (WHO) cautioned this week.

The head of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) concluded a visit on Saturday to devastated Syrian and Turkish communities and aid supply routes, calling on authorities to open more border crossings to help survivors of the earthquakes that hit both countries in early February.

Women in arid parts of rural Sudan, where water is becoming increasingly scarce due to climate change, are learning techniques to adapt to new weather patterns which will build their resilience for the future, thanks to support from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Tropical cyclone Freddy, one of the longest-lasting systems in the southern hemisphere, slammed into Mozambique on Friday, as UN agencies helped residents with early action.

One year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, nearly half the population – roughly 18 million people – need humanitarian aid and protection, the United Nations said on Friday. 

A senior official with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Friday called for greater support for boys and girls affected by the powerful earthquakes in Türkiye, which have left more than one million people homeless. 

The UN chief told the Security Council on Friday that “we need peace” in Ukraine, calling for urgent action on multiple fronts.

February 24, 2023 marks a year since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The people of Ukraine remain resilient a year since Russia’s 24 February invasion but “humanitarian aid is as necessary as ever,” according to the UN’s most senior official in the country.

The UN General Assembly on Thursday called for ending the war in Ukraine and demanded Russia’s immediate withdrawal from the country, in line with the UN Charter.

Aid continues to roll into northwest Syria, with 53 trucks crossing from southern Türkiye on Thursday, the UN reported in its latest update on response to the devastating earthquakes that struck the two countries on 6 February. 

A total of 282 United Nations trucks transporting aid for earthquake victims in northwest Syria have passed through three border crossings with Turkiye over the past two weeks, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said on Wednesday. 

Developing economies could secure up to $148 billion in savings if the international community restructures their existing debt and expands access to future affordable finance, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) said in a policy brief published on Wednesday.

The Security Council on Tuesday heatedly debated Russia’s request for a UN-led inquiry into the September explosions along the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea.

As the death toll from the 6 February earthquake disaster topped 41,000 in Türkiye, UN development experts said on Tuesday that 1.5 million people have been made homeless in the south of the country, where at least 500,000 new homes will need to be built. 

Dreams thrive, even in crisis, with a new UN-led campaign spotlighting the next generation and their ambitions, urgently scrawled to the world on postcards from some of the most crisis-ravaged parts of the world.

Social progress must move into the spotlight, flanked by policies that can drive meaningful change for millions of currently struggling people, the UN deputy chief said, marking the World Day of Social Justice on Monday.

Two weeks after the devastating earthquakes, the UN and partners continue to scale-up cross-border aid delivery from Türkiye into northwest Syria, including through a new entry point, the UN Spokesperson said on Monday. 

As humanitarian needs spiral across the world, political will and funding are required to address war, climate change and other drivers, the UN relief chief said on Monday. 

Some 1.8 billion people on the planet are threatened by flood risks, the United Nations General Assembly President warned on Saturday, at a water management event in Tokyo, Japan, on Saturday.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his support for an integrated, prosperous, and peaceful Africa on Saturday, in remarks delivered to the African Union Summit, which is being held in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.

Weather balloons play an important part of a vast, intricate global observation system, providing vital information for climate monitoring and forecasters, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Friday.

The UN on Friday called for a significant increase to the tune of $500 billion each year in extra financing from the world’s most developed nations, to meet the crucial 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

A steady flow of UN aid trucks filled with vital humanitarian relief, continues to cross the border from southern Türkiye into northwest Syria to help communities enduring terrible trauma caused by last week’s earthquake disaster – and  “will continue every day for as long as the needs are there”, UN aid teams said on Friday.