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.

News

Ukraine war: Path of further escalation ‘must be reversed’, Security Council hears

21 Oct 2022

Russia’s military escalation in Ukraine will lead to more suffering worldwide and must be reversed, said the UN’s political affairs chief on Friday, adding that further talk of possible nuclear weapons use could lead to a “dangerous spiral”.

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Millions at risk in flood-hit Nigeria; relief chief highlights hunger in Burkina Faso

21 Oct 2022

More than 2.8 million people have been impacted by Nigeria’s worst floods in a decade, with 1.3 million displaced and hundreds of lives lost, said the UN chief on Friday, expressing his sadness at the devastation.

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INTERVIEW: Connection between human rights and climate change ‘must not be denied’

21 Oct 2022

The right to life, food, development, self-determination, water and sanitation, and adequate housing, is being denied to millions of people because of climate change, the first UN Special Rapporteur on the Protection of Human Rights in the context of Climate Change, has told the General Assembly in his first formal report to the body.

Ukraine: UN-led Grain Initiative helps anchor food supply, chart way out of crisis

20 Oct 2022

new report from UN trade and development body UNCTAD published on Thursday shows how the UN-led 

Guterres highlights UN partnership with India, as powerhouse for the SDGs

19 Oct 2022

UN Secretary-General António Guterres is in India, and he began his official visit on Wednesday by attending a tribute to the victims of the 2008 terrorist attacks that took place at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in Mumbai.

Somalia: UNICEF warns of unprecedented child deaths

18 Oct 2022

Thousands of severely malnourished boys and girls in Somalia are at risk of dying, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday, urging donors to step up support amid historic drought. 

Political solution ‘no longer sufficient’ to address current crisis in Haiti

17 Oct 2022

A political solution in Haiti continues to be elusive, and on its own is no longer sufficient to address the crisis and save thousands of lives that otherwise will be lost, the UN Special Representative in the country warned the Security Council on Monday.

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Tigray: Fighting must end, urges Guterres, amid ‘staggering’ level of need

17 Oct 2022

Fighting in the Tigray region of Ethiopia is “spiralling out of control”, and there is no military solution to end nearly two years of brutal conflict which has left tens of thousands reportedly dead, while the “social fabric, is being ripped apart”.

Plastics are piling up in soil across the world warns UN environment agency

17 Oct 2022

Plastics used in farming activities are accumulating in agricultural soil worldwide at an alarming rate, a new report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) published on Monday reveals.

Lifting 100 million out of poverty by 2025 still possible, despite recession threat

17 Oct 2022

A flagship UN poverty study released on Monday, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, finds that significant poverty reduction is possible, and new ways of calculating the problem can help humanitarians and governments better target aid.

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Surge in poverty-stricken children in Eastern Europe, Central Asia

17 Oct 2022

Rising inflation and the Ukraine war have triggered a 19 per cent increase in child poverty across Eastern Europe and Central Asia, according to a study by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), published on Monday, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

Huge needs remain in Yemen as fragile peace extends beyond truce: UN deputy relief chief

16 Oct 2022

The UN’s deputy relief chief Joyce Msuya stressed on Sunday that life-saving humanitarian assistance and protection in Yemen must be ramped up to protect the lives of millions of vulnerable people across the war-ravaged country.

A new, financially independent life for former child brides in Mozambique

16 Oct 2022

In Mozambique, more than 20 per cent of girls aged between 13 and 17 have been married or live with someone as if they were married. Women’s support groups are putting thousands of them on the road to financial independence, making them less vulnerable to gender-based violence.

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Ethiopia: UN chief ‘gravely concerned’ by escalation in fighting across Tigray

15 Oct 2022

The UN Secretary-General issued a statement on Saturday expressing grave concern over the escalation of fighting in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, where Government troops and separatist forces have been locked in conflict since November 2020.

Adapt and survive: 5 ways to help countries cope with the climate crisis

15 Oct 2022

From devastating floods in Pakistan, to wildfires in Siberia, the effects of the climate emergency are being felt across the world, and the United Nations is calling for more investment now, to help nations to adapt to an increasingly unstable environment.

‘Catastrophic’ hunger recorded in Haiti recorded for first time, UN warns

14 Oct 2022

An unrelenting series of crises has trapped vulnerable Haitians in a cycle of growing desperation, without access to food, fuel, markets, jobs and public services, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Friday.

Global food crisis: Let’s move from ‘despair to hope and action’, urges Guterres

14 Oct 2022

In the face of the growing hunger crisis, the head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization stressed on Friday, ahead of World Food Day, the need to “harness the power of solidarity and collective action” to build a sustainable world with enough to eat for everyone.

Haiti: ‘Bearers of hope’, saving newborn lives, amid growing turmoil

13 Oct 2022

As protection, healthcare and essential services break down, the violence and volatile political and economic crisis engulfing Haiti has rapidly deteriorated into what the UN has described overall as a humanitarian catastrophe.

World Food Day: Another year of global record hunger looms amid food and climate crisis

13 Oct 2022

The world is at risk of yet another year of record hunger as the global food crisis continues to drive more people into worsening levels of acute food insecurity, The World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Thursday.

Disaster risk reduction: Only half the world equipped with adequate early warning systems

13 Oct 2022

A new report from the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO)

Africa: Response to climate crisis doesn’t match ‘magnitude of the challenge’

12 Oct 2022

African States are on the front line of the climate crisis, a senior UN official told the Security Council on Wednesday, but far more action is needed to turn the tide on rising emissions, and reduce global warming.

Business leaders deliver bold solutions to unlock long-term investment in SDGs

12 Oct 2022

Top business executives joined the UN chief on Wednesday to present transformative solutions for bridging the estimated $4.3 trillion-dollar financing gap for countries the reach the ambitious 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - the world’s agreed roadmap for a more peaceful and inclusive world.

UN Development Programme calls for debt relief now for 54 countries

11 Oct 2022

Fifty-four countries that are home to more than half of the poorest people on the planet need urgent debt relief now, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) said in a paper published on Tuesday that calls for rich countries to step up. 

Climate change: WMO report urges faster action on transition to clean energy

11 Oct 2022

The UN weather agency issued an urgent appeal on Tuesday for governments everywhere to switch to cleaner forms of energy, such as solar, wind and hydro-electric power.

UN relief chief appeals for concerted action to tackle deadly heatwave threat

10 Oct 2022

Heatwaves already kill thousands of people every year and they risk overwhelming the world’s aid response, unless action is taken to mitigate climate change, the UN’s emergency relief chief said on Monday.

UN chief calls for ‘enhanced security support’ for Haiti, as crisis worsens

09 Oct 2022

Amid a deteriorating security situation in Haiti, UN Security-General António Guterres called on Sunday for the Security Council to consider deploying armed forces to help the country address immense humanitarian concerns.

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Historic net-zero international flight goal agreed at UN conference

09 Oct 2022

State members of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) adopted a long-term goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, following two weeks of intensive diplomacy at the UN agency’s 41st Assembly, on Friday.

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Australian surfers ride climate action wave

09 Oct 2022

Surfers have an intimate knowledge of the ocean, but have not been seen as leading figures amongst groups leading on climate change solutions. Thanks to groups such as Surfers for Climate in Australia, that perception is starting to change.

Climate crisis intensifying heatwaves, UN-backed report warns ahead of COP27

08 Oct 2022

Greater action is needed now to avert the recurrence of disastrous heatwaves, which are being intensified by the climate crisis, the UN humanitarian affairs agency, OCHA, and the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC), said in a report issued on Monday. 

Is it possible to be a ‘sustainable tourist’? 12 ways to make a positive impact on your travels

08 Oct 2022

After a period of plummeting tourism numbers during the pandemic, tourism is having a resurgence. This is good news for many workers and businesses, but it could be bad for the planet. Here is a selection of ways tourists can ensure that their holidays don’t harm the environment.