Category: Development

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 5G phone masts have reportedly been damaged or destroyed in several European countries, including Ireland, Cyprus and Belgium. The problem has been particularly acute in the UK, where dozens of towers were targeted, and engineers abused on the job, according to media reports. 5G can carry a huge amount of data much faster than… Read More

“This drop of emissions of six per cent, that’s unfortunately (only) short-term good news”, said Professor Petteri Taalas, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Secretary-General, in reference to a 5.5 to 5.7 per cent fall in levels of carbon dioxide due to the pandemic, that have been flagged by leading climate experts, including the Center for International Climate Research.  Once the global… Read More

Recognizing the “immediate and dreadful” impact of the coronavirus, the UN chief urged everyone to “work together to save lives, ease suffering and lessen the shattering economic and social consequence”.  At the same time, he observed that climate disruption is approaching “a point of no return”, and a “deep emergency” that long predates the pandemic.  “Greenhouse gases, just like viruses,… Read More

WFP Chief warns of hunger pandemic as #COVID19 spreads. Read full statement ? — World Food Programme (@WFP) April 21, 2020 Noting that the global spread of COVID-19 this year has sparked “the worst humanitarian crisis since World War Two”, Executive Director of the World Food Programme (WFP) David Beasley pointed to deepening crises, more frequent natural disasters and changing… Read More

They found that half of all students currently out of the classroom – or nearly 830 million learners globally — do not have access to a computer. Additionally, more than 40 per cent have no Internet access at home. The figures were compiled by the Teacher Task Force, an international alliance coordinated by UNESCO, using data from the UN agency’s… Read More

In 2019, around 135 million people across 55 countries experienced acute food insecurity, which required urgent food, nutrition, and livelihoods assistance for survival, according to the joint news release issued on Tuesday in Rome by the Global Network Against Food Crises. “But these numbers are just the tip of a larger iceberg”, according to the Global Network.  Within 47 of these… Read More

“We want to re-emphasize that easing restrictions is not the end of the epidemic in any country,” agency chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Monday, during his regular briefing to journalists. Mr. Tedros said ending the disease will require a sustained effort from individuals, communities and Governments to continue suppressing and controlling the deadly new coronavirus. “So-called lockdowns can help… Read More

In an open letter that appeared on Sunday in The Guardian (UK), the heads of UN agencies, including among others, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Food Programme (WFP), along with the Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affair (OCHA), said cancelled flights and disrupted supply routes have prompted the appeal to enable a rapid scale-up of staff and… Read More

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus reiterated the UN’s appreciation committing to further strengthen WHO’s mandate in coordinating the international fight, noting that “all of your countries have been affected, and you are all at different stages of the response.” I had three asks of @g20org health ministers today:1. Fight #COVID19 with determination, guided by science & evidence2. Continue to support the global response3.… Read More