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Universal Health Coverage ‘more urgent than ever’ – UN chief
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that “our health systems are inadequate”, the UN chief told a ministerial meeting on Thursday, citing weak structures and unequal access to healthcare as “major reasons” why the coronavirus has killed one million pe
Pandemic has forever changed online shopping, UN-backed survey reveals
The COVID-19 pandemic has forever changed the way consumers shop online, the UN trade and development body, UNCTAD, said on Thursday, announcing results of a survey of some 3,700 consumers across nine countries.
Belarus: ‘There is no sustainable development without human rights’ - a UN Resident Coordinator blog
Belarus has been rocked by mass demonstrations, and violent state crackdowns, since the disputed August presidential election that saw Alexander Lukashenko returned to power.
Global trade amid COVID-19: Signs of rebound, but recovery uncertain
Global trade is showing signs of bouncing back from a deep, COVID-19-induced slump, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has said, with the caveat that any recovery could be badly disrupted by the future course of the pandemic and how societies reac
Report outlines long road to post-COVID recovery for Latin America and Caribbean
Economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in Latin America and the Caribbean will be slower than the return to productivity following the subprime mortgage crisis more than a decade ago, the head of the UN’s office for the region, ECLAC, said o
DR Congo: Children suffering ‘unrelenting violence’, UNICEF deeply concerned
Thousands of children continue to suffer grievously as unrelenting violence persists across eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday, expressing deep concern.
UN Special Adviser helps align UN and Africa on sustainable development path
"Helping to reshape the UN's approach to better serve the continent and merge the UN-led Sustainable Development Goals with Africa's own 2063 Agenda, are top priorities for the newly minted UN Special Adviser on Africa.
Violent protests sparked by murder, bring Haiti to brink of instability, Security Council warned
Violent protests sparked by the murder of a high-profile legal scholar are threatening to push Haiti into a spiral of instability, Special Representative Helen La Lime told the Security Council on Monday, as she outlined UN efforts to help overcom
Harness ‘transformative potential’ of urbanization for people and planet, UN urges, marking World Habitat Day
Commemorating World Habitat Day, on Monday, top UN officials called for urgent action to provide low-income families and vulnerable populations with affordable housing with security of tenure and easy access to water, sanitation, transport and oth
Greening of India's railway network on track
An ambitious plan to make one of the world’s largest and most complex railway networks a net zero carbon emitter by 2030 is moving full steam ahead, although without the steam, thanks, in part, to support from the United Nations Environment Progra
First Person: ‘I’m happy to be able to give back’
Luis Jose Faife, a UN refugee agency (UNHCR) worker from Mozambique, survived the devastation of Cyclones Idai and Kenneth, which killed more than 600 people in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, and displaced some 2.2.
Sudan alert: Flooding and surging inflation threaten humanitarian assistance
Catastrophic flooding and rising food and health costs in Sudan, have driven up the number of people in need, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Friday.
Top humanitarian award winner ‘nothing short of heroic’: UN refugee chief
An educator and rights defender who has spent more than 20 years rescuing exploited and trafficked children in Colombia, represents “the best of us”, the UN refugee chief said on Thursday, as she was named the winner of this year’s Nansen Refugee
LIVE: UN chief, Prince Charles, join calls for end to biodiversity destruction
Regularly updated coverage of the UN Summit on Biodiversity, where activists and senior UN officials are calling for urgent action on biodiversity for sustainable development.
Protect the world from sliding into global recession, urges UN chief
The economic and social consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic “are as bad as we feared”, the UN Secretary-General said, as he warned that the international community must act now if it is stave off a global recession, which could wipe out decades
Flooding leaves South Sudan facing threat of ‘catastrophic’ hunger levels
Torrential rains and flooding across South Sudan have created the threat of “catastrophic” levels of hunger and left hundreds of thousands homeless, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
Food loss and waste ‘an ethical outrage’, UN chief says on International Day
New approaches and solutions are needed to address worsening food loss and waste, the UN Secretary-General has said, in a message marking the first ever International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste Reduction.
Nobel laureate Nadia Murad denounces lack of will to end sexual violence as a war tactic
With one in three women around the world affected by gender-based violence – a crime that skyrockets more than 200 per cent in conflict settings – Nobel laureate Nadia Murad brought governments and UN leaders to task on Monday, for failing to prov
Illicit capital robbing Africa and its people of their future: UN trade and development chief
Every year, an estimated $88.6 billion, which is equivalent to 3.7% of Africa’s GDP, leaves the continent in the form of illicit capital, according to UN trade and development agency UNCTAD’s Economic Development in Africa Report 2020, launched on
Ahead of biodiversity summit, UN officials discuss roadmap to preserve the natural world
Top UN officials working to preserve the natural world are urging “action now” ahead of a crucial biodiversity summit this week, where world leaders will reaffirm their commitment to the cause.
Reform of UN is ‘the need of the hour’: India premier
The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, declared that United Nations reform is “the need of the hour”, as he addressed world leaders in a video address to the General Debate of the General Assembly, on Saturday.
FROM THE FIELD: COVID-19’s ‘deadly layer of complexity’ depicted in photos
The fall-out from the COVID-19 pandemic is adding a “deadly layer of complexity” to the global challenge of preventing more people from falling into poverty, a view articulated in a photographic exhibition sponsored by the UN Development Programme
INTERVIEW: ‘Famine is preventable, if there is political will’
The UN is warning of an impending hunger pandemic across the world, partly a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Deadly flooding adds new danger to communities fleeing Sahel violence
Humanitarians have stepped up assistance to communities “on the brink”, who have been affected by devastating flooding in Africa’s Sahel region, where several hundred thousand people have been displaced by seasonal rains.
Corruption and tax-dodging ‘rampant’, urgent reforms needed: UN panel
Tax abuse, money laundering and corruption, plague the global financial system, a high-level UN panel reported on Thursday, launching an interim report that underscores the need for urgent reforms to achieve the 2030 Global Goals (SDGs).
UN and partners press for seafarers to be designated ‘key workers’ during COVID pandemic
The UN Secretary-General has again appealed for governments to act on behalf of hundreds of thousands of seafarers and other maritime workers stuck at sea for endless months, in some cases more than a year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
LIVE: UN Climate Change Roundtable
Live coverage of the High-Level UN Climate Change Roundtable, featuring UN chief António Guterres, designed to rally momentum for more ambitious action to limit global warking and ensure sustainable post-pandemic recovery plans.
UN chief and UK premier announce December climate summit
With the COVID-19 pandemic having disrupted plans to hold the annual international UN climate meeting - known as the COP - this year, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom have announced that they will
FROM THE FIELD: Protecting the post-pandemic planet
An emphasis on sustainable development and fighting climate change will benefit countries around the world as they recover from the unprecedented economic and social impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, says the UN Development Programme, (UNDP).
Guterres advocates for digital world that ‘strengthens human rights, advances peace’
Amidst a technological era that “beckons with vast opportunity”, new risks exist to global peace, stability and development, the UN chief told a side event of the General Assembly on Wednesday, aiming to help ensure access to digital technologies