“Before I did not have a trade but, thanks to this training, I am becoming a valuable asset to my country”, says Nassira Zakaria, from Kaga Bandoro, a northern market town in the Central African Republic (CAR). Ms. Zakaria, a trainee seamstress in a Community Violence Reduction programme, run by the UN peacekeeping mission in CAR, MINUSCA, says that she… Read More

They have signed up to support the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP), a “one-stop shop” for sharing scientific knowledge, data and intellectual property in efforts to beat back the disease. A new #COVID19 Technology Access Pool to share data & intellectual property will give all countries & companies a chance to become a part of the solution for life-saving tools… Read More

Smoking suffocates the lungs and other organs, starving them of the oxygen they need to develop and function properly, the WHO warned in a statement. “Educating youth is vital because nearly nine out of 10 smokers start before age 18. We want to provide young people with the knowledge to speak out against tobacco industry manipulation”, said Ruediger Krech, Director… Read More

Josep Borrell said the novel coronavirus crisis – like climate change – shows the need for collective action and that the rules-based international order, with the UN at its core, must be upheld and strengthened. “At a time of global crisis, we need a Security Council able to take the necessary decisions and not one that is paralyzed by vetoes… Read More

The heads of 17 organizations representing the international humanitarian community issued a statement on Thursday, saying “we are running out of time” to keep operations in the war-torn country functioning through the end of the year. Yemen recorded its first case of COVID-19 in early April. Since then, there have been 260 cases and 54 deaths, according to latest figures… Read More

Titled Marketing of Breast‐milk Substitutes: National Implementation of the International Code – Status report 2020, the study highlights the need for stronger legislation to protect families from false claims about the safety of breast-milk substitutes or aggressive marketing practices, findings that take on increased importance during the COVID-19 pandemic. The UN World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF)… Read More

The WHO Foundation, which is independent, will be an integral part of the UN agency’s resource mobilization strategy to broaden its donor base. WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the idea came from a staff member in response to a call made nearly three years ago for suggestions to transform the organization. “It is well documented that one of the… Read More

For 13-year-old Rafina from Beira, one of Mozambique’s largest cities, the feeling seems familiar; her school is, once again, closed. Only one year has passed since Cyclone Idai devasted the country affecting 1.85 million people, damaging 90 per cent of Beira’s infrastructure. This time, however, there are no collapsing buildings, flooded streets and desperate people.  The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) sneaked… Read More

Recognized worldwide as a strong democracy that promotes human rights, sustainable development and environmental protection, Costa Rica abolished its army, and dedicated those resources to public education. The COVID-19 pandemic has posed perhaps the greatest challenge to those historic achievements in the nation’s history, which is why, despite the low numbers and the good news, the authorities are not claiming… Read More

In a statement, the Secretary-General expressed his sadness at the loss of dozens of lives due to the most powerful storm to form in the Bay of Bengal, that packed powerful winds, slamming into the vulnerable coastal area along the border between the two nations, compounding the on-going COVID-19 crisis, and compromising efforts to maintain physical distancing. Bangladesh is dealing with… Read More