warns Archives - Page 5 of 10

Window to reach climate goals ‘rapidly closing’, UN report warns

·September 11, 2023·1 min read

Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which issued the report, called for “greater ambition and accelerating action”. “I urge governments to carefully study the findings of the report and ultimately understand what it means for them and the ambitious action they must take...

Pakistan: Flood waters have gone but horror continues for children, UNICEF warns

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·August 26, 2023·1 min read

Speaking one year on from the unprecedented disaster, Abdullah Fadil, UNICEF Representative in Pakistan, noted new challenges for about four million children living without safe water in flood-affected areas. “Vulnerable children living in flood-affected areas have endured a horrific year. They lost their loved ones, homes and schools. As the...

Guterres warns against nuclear catastrophe risk in message to Nagasaki memorial

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·August 9, 2023·1 min read

“We mourn those killed, whose memory will never fade. We remember the terrible destruction wrought upon this city and Hiroshima. We honour the unrelenting strength and resilience of the people of Nagasaki to rebuild,” he said. New arms race Yet despite the terrible lessons of 1945, humanity is now facing...

Time running out on election timeline for South Sudan, UN official warns

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·August 3, 2023·3 min read

“With only 17 months remaining on the Roadmap timelines before elections in 2024, I repeat what I had said in an earlier press conference, that 2023 is a ‘make or break’ year,” Nicholas Haysom said. Mr. Haysom heads the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) which reported that “a race against...

Niger crisis could worsen insecurity throughout West Africa, UN envoy warns

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·August 2, 2023·2 min read

Briefing journalists at UN Headquarters in New York, Léonardo Santos Simão reiterated condemnation of the attempted overthrow of Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum on 26 July. He also underscored support for efforts by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) aimed at restoring constitutional order and consolidating democratic gains in the...

World entering a ‘humanitarian doom loop’, warns UN food aid official

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·July 30, 2023·2 min read

At a press briefing in New York, Carl Skau, Deputy Executive Director of the World Food Programme, said that the collapse of the Black Sea Grain Initiative after Russia ended its engagement was “regrettable, to say the least.” Under the initiative, WFP shipped more than 725,000 tons of grain, relieving...

‘Disaster emergency’ underway in Asia-Pacific, warns ESCAP

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·July 25, 2023·1 min read

According to a new report from the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), in 2022 alone, over 140 disasters struck the region, leading to over 7,500 deaths. They impacted 64 million people, and caused economic damage estimated at $57 billion. Under a 2°C warming scenario,...

Spike in dengue cases due to global warming, warns WHO

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·July 21, 2023·2 min read

“About half of the world’s population is at risk of dengue, and dengue affects approximately 129 countries,” said Dr Raman Velayudhan, WHO’s Head of the Global Programme on control of Neglected Tropical Diseases. “We estimate that about 100 to 400 million cases are reported every year. This is basically an estimate...

Children forcibly separated from mothers at Syria’s Al Hol, warns top rights expert

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·July 21, 2023·3 min read

Fionnuala Ni Aolain, UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, is the first independent rights expert to gain access to the infamous facilities Al Hol and Al Raj, as well as other places of detention. After her six-day visit to...

‘The world is failing the Haitian people’ warns UNICEF chief

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·July 3, 2023·4 min read

Briefing correspondents at UN Headquarters in New York just a few days after visiting Haiti along with the head of the World Food Programme (WFP), Catherine Russell said “the current situation of insecurity is unacceptable. “Women and children are dying. Schools and public spaces should always be safe. Collectively the...

‘Generations of Haitians’ at risk, warns Guterres, calling for international force to help quell gang violence

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·July 2, 2023·2 min read

The UN chief expressed deep concern at the extreme vulnerability faced by the Haitian people – especially women and girls – because of brutally violent and “predatory” armed gangs, like those encircling the capital, blocking main roads and controlling access to water, food, health care. “I condemn in the strongest possible...

Eastern DR Congo: Health system at breaking point warns WHO

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·July 1, 2023·2 min read

Speaking from Kinshasa, Dr. Jorge Castilla, WHO’s Senior Emergency Officer, told journalists at the regular briefing in Geneva there had been a major increase in displacement due to ongoing violence fuelled by armed groups, leaving around 7.4 million in need of health assistance. Disease and displacement Since March 2022, almost...