Rohingya refugee children perish as boat capsizes off Bangladesh – UN migration agency
Oct 10, 2017, at 01:16 pm
New York, Oct 10(Just Earth News): At least 13 Rohingya refugees, 11 of them young children, fleeing violence in Myanmar have drowned when the fishing boat they were on capsized in stormy weather, the United Nations migration agency said.
Oct 09, 2017, at 02:42 pm
New York, Oct 9(Just Earth News): Having seen first-hand the destruction wrought by the recent hurricanes in the Caribbean, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday called for the full mobilization of the international community to support the people of the affected areas, while stressing the need to accelerate climate action.
As Bubonic and Pneumonic plagues spread in Madagascar, UN health agency ramps up response
Oct 07, 2017, at 09:48 am
New York, Oct 7(Just Earth News): The United Nations health agency is rapidly scaling up its response to a plague outbreak in Madagascar that has spread to the capital and port towns, infecting more than 100 people in just a few weeks.
Central African Republic: More aid needed amid deteriorating security, UN relief official warns
Oct 07, 2017, at 09:45 am
New York, Oct 7(Just Earth News): In spite of humanitarian access to help tackle some of the most critical needs in several Central African Republic (CAR) hotspots, eroding security since the beginning of 2017 has sparked additional needs, the United Nations humanitarian wing reported on Friday.
Group's Nobel Peace Prize win spotlights need to end 'nuclear nightmare' says UN chief
Oct 07, 2017, at 09:44 am
New York, Oct 7(Just Earth News): Congratulating the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) on being awarded on Friday the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize, top United Nations officials said that the recognition is a reminder of the need to grim threats posed by such weapons to humanity.
Join global treaty to root out the scourge of illegal fishing, urges UN food security agency
Oct 07, 2017, at 04:36 am
New York, Oct 6(Just Earth News): Calling for strengthening the fight against illegal fishing, the United Nations food security agency has urged all countries to join a landmark global treaty that aims to rid the world of the multibillion-dollar scourge.
September ‘deadliest month’ of 2017 for Syrians, UN relief official reports
Oct 07, 2017, at 04:33 am
New York, Oct 6(Just Earth News): Hospitals, ambulances, schools and displaced people escaping violence are being routinely targeted by airstrikes in Syria, resulting in high numbers of deaths and injuries, and making September the deadliest month of the year, according to the United Nations regional relief coordinator for the crisis.
Oct 06, 2017, at 01:33 pm
New York, Oct 6(Just Earth News): While recent crises threatening the peace process in Mali had been overcome and new agreements reached, progress must be accelerated as the situation remains perilous for peacekeepers and civilians, the head of United Nations peacekeeping efforts in the West African country told the Security Council on Thursday.
Vegetable oils lift food prices in September; cereal prices down on bumper crop prospects
Oct 06, 2017, at 01:32 pm
New York, Oct 6(Just Earth News): Global food prices rose slightly in September, as firmer prices of vegetable oils and dairy products offset declining prices for staple cereal grains, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Thursday.
INTERVIEW: In fighting for girls’ education, UN advocate Malala Yousafzai finds her purpose
Oct 06, 2017, at 01:30 pm
New York, Oct 6(Just Earth News): More than 260 million children, adolescents and youth are out of school around the world, according to the United Nations. Despite some progress in achieving gender equality in the world’s poorest countries, far more girls than boys still do not have access to a quality education,
Asylum and refugee protection represent ‘humanity at its best,’ says senior UN official
Oct 06, 2017, at 01:26 pm
New York, Oct 6(Just Earth News): Warning of threats to the global asylum environment, the United Nations refugee agency’s protection chief on Thursday stressed the importance of sustained engagement by the international community to keep refugees high on the political agenda.
Empower teachers; give them the freedom to teach, UN urges on World Day
Oct 06, 2017, at 04:55 am
New York, Oct 5(Just Earth News): Underscoring the critical important role teachers play in ensuring the future for every society, the United Nations on Thursday called for empowering educators with the freedom and support they need to undertake their vital mission.
Oct 05, 2017, at 01:11 pm
New York, Oct 5(Just Earth News): The human tragedy unfolding in southern Bangladesh is staggering in its scale, warned two senior United Nations officials on Wednesday as they wrapped up a mission to Cox’s Bazar with calls for a “significant increase in assistance†for the thousands of Rohingyas have settled in the area after fleeing violence in neighbouring Myanmar.
Counselling and dieting among new UN health agency guidelines on child obesity
Oct 05, 2017, at 05:04 am
New York, Oct 4(Just Earth News): An estimated 41 million children under five years old are obese or overweight, United Nations health experts warned on Wednesday, launching new guidelines to tackle what they call a global epidemic.
Sustainable cities key to implement SDGs, says head of UN regional development arm
Oct 05, 2017, at 05:02 am
New York, Oct 4(Just Earth News): Noting the high speed of urbanization in Latin America and the Caribbean, the United Nations development arm in the region underlined the need to keep a close watch on the provision of services, equipment, mobility, housing and urban land to make sure they can match pace with the demand.
Global Goals embraced by Japanese society, UN deputy chief says, wrapping up Tokyo visit
Oct 04, 2017, at 10:59 am
New York, Oct 4(Just Earth News): Concluding her three-day visit to Japan on Tuesday, United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed on Tuesday noted how much the Japanese society has embraced the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a compass guiding to a more prosperous future for themselves.
In Bangladesh, UN aid chief urges scaling up response for Rohingya refugee crisis
Oct 04, 2017, at 10:58 am
New York, Oct 4(Just Earth News): With over half a million Rohingya refugees having fled their homes in Myanmar since violence erupted in late August, the top United Nations humanitarian official has underscored that the solution to the crisis needs to be found within Myanmar.
SDGs ‘take off’ in Nepal’s skies with UN development programme-airline partnership
Oct 04, 2017, at 10:57 am
New York, Oct 4(Just Earth News): Through a partnership between the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and a private aircraft company, airplanes flying in Nepal’s skies will bear UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) branding icons, disseminating the globally-agreed targets far and wide.
UN agriculture agency and World Bank launch new initiative to avert famine in Yemen
Oct 04, 2017, at 10:55 am
New York, Oct 4(Just Earth News): More than half a million vulnerable and food-insecure people in war-torn Yemen will receive immediate relief and long-term sustainable agricultural support, thanks to a $46 million project launched by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Bank.
Dire lack of winter funding puts millions of refugees in Middle East at risk, warns UN agency
Oct 04, 2017, at 10:53 am
New York, Oct 4(Just Earth News): Dwindling resources could severely jeopardize efforts to provide refugees and displaced persons across the Middle East with essential winter supplies such as thermal blankets and warm clothing, the United Nations refugee agency has warned.
HIV-related stigma, discrimination prevent people from accessing health services – UN
Oct 04, 2017, at 10:52 am
New York, Oct 4(Just Earth News): People living with HIV who experience high levels of stigma are more than twice as likely to delay enrolment into care than people who do not perceive such stigma, a United Nations report released on Tuesday reveals.
Iraq: UN migration agency assists thousands newly displaced from west Anbar
Oct 04, 2017, at 10:51 am
New York, Oct 4(Just Earth News): With some 8,500 people displaced over the past two weeks amid Iraq’s military operations to retake Anbar province, the United Nations migration agency announced on Tuesday that it is stepping up provision of life-saving assistance.
UN and partners aim to slash 90 per cent of cholera deaths by 2040
Oct 04, 2017, at 10:50 am
New York, Oct 4(Just Earth News): A taskforce of United Nations and international partner agencies is gearing up to launch an ambitious new strategy to combat cholera – aiming to reduce deaths by 90 per cent by 2040, the UN health agency announced on Tuesday.
Cameroon: UN Secretary-General urges dialogue to resolve grievances
Oct 04, 2017, at 10:47 am
New York, Oct 4(Just Earth News): Strongly condemning recent violence in south-west and north-west regions of Cameroon, including reported loss of life, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has urged all stakeholders to refrain from any further acts of violence and called on the authorities to investigate the incidents.
INTERVIEW: Global humanitarian needs have never been higher, says UN official
Oct 03, 2017, at 01:30 pm
New York, Oct 3(Just Earth News): The number of those needing humanitarian assistance is at its highest since the end of the Second World War – some 145 million people. Several protracted crises in Africa and the Middle East are deteriorating and climate-induced emergencies, sometimes combined with violent conflict, continue to wreak havoc on vulnerable communities. Amid all this, United Nations-coordinated response plans remain severely underfunded.
'Nothing enduring can be built on violence,' UN Assembly President says, recalling words of Gandhi
Oct 03, 2017, at 01:28 pm
New York, Oct 3(Just Earth News): Noting that in on Monday's world, violence has become a “tool of choice†for many and new evidence, of destruction and suffering, every day resulting from this choice, the President of the United Nations General Assembly has called for greater efforts to prevent conflict and for the Organization to promote the use of non-violence across all three pillars of its work.
Amid 'critical' resource shortage, UN agency cuts food rations for refugees in Kenya
Oct 03, 2017, at 01:27 pm
New York, Oct 3(Just Earth News): For 420,000 refugees living in northern Kenya, insufficient funding has forced the United Nations food relief agency to cut rations by 30 per cent, as it appeals for nearly $30 million for assistance.
'Winner-takes-all' dynamics in digital economy could widen income gap – UN report
Oct 03, 2017, at 01:25 pm
New York, Oct 3(Just Earth News): The benefits of digitalization to people's lives are enormous, but 'winner-takes-all' dynamics in the digital economy creates a risk of widening income inequalities, says a report released on Monday by a United Nations entity dealing with trade, investment and development.
In Tokyo, UN deputy chief cites benefits of local-level social dialogue on sustainable development
Oct 03, 2017, at 01:24 pm
New York, Oct 3(Just Earth News): United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, at an event in Tokyo on Monday, stressed the need for social dialogue on sustainable development, expressing her expectations regarding the role of media in bringing different constituents together to reflect on difficult questions such as on sustainable life style.
World must step up protection for refugees, do more to solve conflict – UN agency chief
Oct 03, 2017, at 01:23 pm
New York, Oct 3(Just Earth News): The global community is letting down millions of refugees and internally displaced people, and needs to renew efforts to prevent and resolve conflicts, focusing on protection and solutions, the head of the United Nations refugee agency said on Monday.