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Humanitarians are deploying extra staff across Ukraine to aid the growing number of civilians sheltering from Russian bombardment, or fleeing the violence, the UN Spokesperson said on Thursday.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine compels Member States of the United Nations to unite in “cooperation and solidarity” to support all those impacted “and to overcome this violation of international law” said Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday, addressing the General Assembly in New York.

The global failure to deliver enough COVID-19 vaccines to developing countries “is prolonging the pandemic” and causing tens of thousands of preventable deaths every week, senior UN figures told the Human Rights Council on Thursday.

The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB), an independent, UN-backed body, is calling on governments to do more to regulate social media platforms that glamourize drug-related negative behaviour and boost sales of controlled substances.

At least two-thirds of households with children have lost income since the COVID-19 pandemic hit two years ago, according to a joint report published on Wednesday by the UN children’s agency (UNICEF) and World Bank.

Almost 500 million people have been infected with the coronavirus since March 2020 and new variants are still a threat. This Friday marks two years since the World Health Organization (WHO) characterised the global spread of COVID-19 as a pandemic. 

New guidelines on abortion are now available from the World Health Organization (WHO), in a bid to prevent more than 25 million unsafe terminations that happen each year.

Top UN-appointed rights investigators on Wednesday urged renewed efforts for a political solution to Syria’s devastating war, which has been marked by an uptick of violence and a deepening humanitarian crisis in recent months.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has praised European countries welcoming people fleeing the war in Ukraine, whose numbers now surpass two million. 

Investing in women’s economic empowerment yields enormous dividends for peace and prosperity, the head of UN Women told the Security Council on Tuesday, stressing that countries where women are economically marginalized and shut out of the workforce are much more likely to go to war.  

The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process on Tuesday expressed deep concern over the “deteriorating security situation” this week in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, where daily violence has claimed the lives of six Palestinians, including a child.

On day 13 of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and amid rising numbers of civilian casualties, UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday repeated her ceasefire call, with humanitarians on the ground describing conditions as increasingly “apocalyptic”.

Mariia Shostak, a 25-year-old woman living in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, started having contractions on 24 February, the day the Russian Federation launched a military offensive in Ukraine, and gave birth amid the sounds of air raid sirens.

Allowing civilians to safely leave areas under fire in Ukraine, and delivering desperately needed aid to these locations, are among immediate priorities for humanitarians, the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths, told the Security Council on Monday. 

South Sudan’s unity government marked its two-year anniversary against a backdrop of stalled constitutional progress and ongoing cycles of community violence – often fuelled by political groups and armed militias – the senior UN official in the country told the Security Council on Monday.

Unaccompanied and separated children fleeing the conflict in Ukraine must be protected, two senior UN officials said in a joint statement on Monday. 

Ukraine addressed the UN’s highest court on Monday to reject as a “grotesque lie” Russia’s claims that genocide has been committed in eastern Ukrainian oblasts, or regions, before calling for emergency measures to halt Russian aggression.

Ahead of International Women’s Day, celebrated on 08 March, UN Secretary-General António Guterres has insisted that the world “cannot emerge from the pandemic with the clock spinning backwards on gender equality”.

UN chief António Guterres called on Sunday for a pause in fighting to allow civilians to escape conflict zones in Ukraine, as the UN rights body (OHCHR) announced it had recorded 1,123 civilian casualties since the beginning of Russia’s armed attack on the country.

Tropical Storm Ana left a trail of destruction in its wake in Malawi, particularly in hardest-hit southern districts, after it struck the country in late January. The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) has been at the forefront of efforts to help pregnant women and mothers by providing medical supplies, and reproductive services.

Amin Awad, the United Nations Crisis Coordinator for Ukraine, called on Saturday for an “immediate humanitarian pause” in fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces, as UN aid supplies arrive in the country.

Amid reports of dwindling food supplies in embattled areas in Ukraine, the World Food Programme (WFP) on Friday began ramping up operations, warning that the conflict could have consequences beyond the country.

UN humanitarians on Friday described as “unprecedented,” the continuing outflow of children and families fleeing the “relentless shelling” of Russian military action in Ukraine – as they await assurances for the safe passage of relief teams to provide urgently needed assistance.

Global food prices reached an all-time high in February, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported on Friday.

On World Obesity Day, marked on Friday, the World Health Organization (WHO) urged countries to do more to reverse what is a preventable health crisis.

Kenya’s Nzambi Matee beams brightly, thrusting a brick forth to coincide with the click of the camera. It is no ordinary brick – the entire thing is made from plastic waste – and no ordinary photo, either. Behind her, stands the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina Mohammed. Ms. Mohammed rests her hands on Nzambi’s shoulder, undoubtedly proud of her. Around her are a dozen other young environmental advocates.

Ending the acute phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and building resilience against the next outbreak will be critical to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said in remarks to a UN conference that opened in Kigali, Rwanda on Thursday. 

Russia’s military attack on Ukraine has “opened a new and dangerous chapter in world history,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet told an urgent debate on Thursday, leading calls for a ceasefire. 

The World Health Organization (WHO), for the first time, included an oral antiviral drug in its COVID-19 treatment guidance.

For 50 years, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has offered the world a way forward “based on a vision for a better, healthier Earth built on the pillars of international cooperation,” Secretary-General António Guterres told a landmark special session on Thursday, commemorating the agency’s golden anniversary.