“Humanity’s torching the planet and paying the price,” warned UN Secretary-General António Guterres responding to WMO’s latest global temperature analysis covering January to September 2024. Youth-led momentum for change In a powerful video message to 19th Climate Change Conference of Youth, Mr. Guterres emphasized their critical role in driving climate...
Such investment is not just practical but transformative, she said in a video message to the official UN commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, held in New York on Wednesday. “Investment in prevention is to invest in our collective well-being,” she said. “It means...
Audrey Azoulay was speaking on Friday in Beijing, China, where she co-chaired the award ceremony for the 2023 UNESCO Prize for the Education of Women and Girls, alongside the agency’s Special Envoy, Professor Peng Liyuan. She appealed for an “intensification of global investments in favour of girls and women’s access...
Afghanistan continues to face a humanitarian crisis brought on by decades of instability, exacerbated by severe drought and natural disasters. As a result, millions are living with poor or no access to healthcare and food, putting them at severe risk of malnutrition and disease outbreaks. WHO added that the vulnerability of...
According to a new UNCTAD report, developing countries actually face a staggering $4 trillion gap in sustainable development investments. UNCTAD Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan said that a “significant increase” in material support for renewable energy in developing countries is “crucial” for the world to reach its climate goals by 2030. Poorer countries...
“The challenges are many and they are serious”, Amina Mohammed said, highlighting the plight of the planet. “Almost all our indicators on the climate and ecological crises are pointing in the wrong direction.” She praised China’s role in being an innovator and believer in the power of multilateralism to overcome...
This investment is critical, including to ensure that energy infrastructure is resilient to climate-related shocks, and to harness the power of energy generated from sources such as the sun and wind, the UN agency said. In this regard, WMO is stepping up its activities to promote tailored weather and climate...
“A more gender-responsive mission builds trust with the communities they serve and improves its effectiveness,” said UN Women’s Executive Director Sima Bahous at the start of the event. She also highlighted the vital role women play in today’s multifaceted peacekeeping missions and stressed the need to ensure the equal participation...
“In a number of countries, key sectors are facing labour shortages, because people are increasingly reluctant to engage in work which is not properly, adequately, fairly valued by society and rewarded in terms of better pay and improved working conditions,” said Manuela Tomei, Assistant Director-General for Governance, Rights and Dialogue at the International Labour Organization...
It is estimated that some 584 million children have limited or no access to basic drinking water services at school. Nearly half live in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the study by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme...
Although 45 per cent of countries are on track to achieve drinking water targets by the end of the decade, only a quarter are likely to meet sanitation targets. The findings come in a report published by WHO and UN-Water, which brings together UN agencies and other organizations working on...
Providing water and sanitation for everyone on the planet is one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), agreed by all 193 UN Member States in 2015. The report revealed that although more than two billion people gained access to safe drinking water over the past two decades, a quarter of...