Development Health Advice 

Eastern DR Congo: Health system at breaking point warns WHO

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 three million people have been forced from their homes in… Read More
Development Health Advice 

Child health: More focus needed on earliest years, urges WHO

The report from the World Health Organization (WHO) and Children’s Fund UNICEF find that the first years of a child’s life provide “irreplicable opportunities to improve lifelong health, nutrition and well-being” according to a press release. It tracks progress against the global Nurturing care framework, which provides guidance on supporting the healthy physical, intellectual, and emotional development of young children. Protecting… Read More
Development Health Advice 

First Person: Reducing the harm caused by drugs in Thailand

Watcharapol Mahaprom, who goes by the name Paan, accesses services at a clinic in Bangkok run by the UNODC-supported non-governmental organization, Ozone. The organization promotes harm-reduction services which focus on their clients’ needs with the aim of preventing the health and social impacts of drug use. He spoke to UN News ahead of the International Day Against Drug Abuse and… Read More
Development Health Advice 

In a dangerous and divided world, yoga yields ‘precious’ benefits

This year’s observance organized by the Permanent Mission of India to the UN in collaboration with the Secretariat, took place under the theme, Yoga for Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam (“the world is one family”). In his video message for the event, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres reminded everyone that in a dangerous and divided world, the benefits of this ancient practice are particularly… Read More
Development Health Advice 

World Food Safety Day: ‘Nobody should die from eating food’

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) are highlighting the issue ahead of World Food Safety Day, observed annually on 7 June.  This year, focus is on the role of established food safety practices and standards which ensure that what we eat, is safe to consume.  Ending ‘preventable deaths’  Food safety has a direct impact… Read More
Development Health Advice 

World must ‘work as one’ to end plastic pollution: Guterres

“Every year, over 400 million tons of plastic is produced worldwide – one third of which is used just once”, said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. 2,000 truckloads a day “Every day, the equivalent of over 2,000 garbage trucks full of plastic is dumped into our oceans, rivers, and lakes.” He noted that microplastics are finding their way into the food we… Read More
Development Health Advice 

US state abortion bans ‘putting millions of women and girls at risk’

Since the start of the year, abortion has been banned in 14 states across the country, and the consequences of the Supreme Court decision has reverberated throughout the entire legal and policy system, the Human Rights Council-appointed experts said. “The regressive position taken by the US Supreme Court…by essentially dismantling 50 years of precedent protecting the right to abortion in… Read More
Development Health Advice 

UNAIDS celebrates Pride Month, demands decriminalization worldwide

Pride Month provides an opportunity to celebrate the resilience, diversity, and achievements of LGBTQI individuals, UNAIDS said in a press release, while also reflecting on continuing struggle for full equality, dignity and recognition. This momentous occasion also serves as a reminder of the important collective commitment to human rights, equality, and the urgent need to decriminalize same-sex relationships, the agency… Read More
Development Health Advice 

‘Safe digital public square’ never more important, says Türk

Volker Türk was issuing a clarion call to protect and expand civic space, arguing that it’s the only way to enable us all “to play a role in political, economic, and social life, at all levels, from local to global.” Hate speech going unchecked He said with more and more decision-making migrating online, “with private companies playing an outsized role,… Read More
Development Health Advice 

Guterres: ‘We can turn the tide’ towards ending colonialism

“Our shared goal is to give greater priority to the decolonization agenda and spur accelerated action,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the Special Committee on Decolonization, or C-24, regional seminar. Established by the General Assembly in 1961, the Committee is mandated to examine the application of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. Since the… Read More