Actress Olivia Wilde came to the UN Headquarters in New York to take part in the launch of a new UN collaboration with toy company Mattel, Inc., that introduces the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to preschoolers, through nine new episodes of the animated children’s series, Thomas & Friends. She shared with Liz Scaffidi her thoughts on the new episodes.

There is a 22-year difference in life-expectancy between the people of Norway, and those of the impoverished nation of Niger in Africa, according to new data revealed on Friday in the UNDP Human Development Index (HDI).  Selim Jahan, of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), who directs t he office which compiled the report, spoke to UN News's Fatima E. Mendez.

With the UN imploring those fighting in Syria’s civil war and the countries backing them to prevent a “bloodbath” in the last rebel-held enclave of Idlib, the World Food Programme (WFP) is doing all it can to help civilians cope in the event of an offensive. Marwa Awad, Spokesperson for WFP in Syria, told Nabil Al Midani, from UN News’s Arabic service, what they were doing to safeguard families in the line of fire.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that about 800,000 people died in 2016 by their own hand, mostly in low- and middle-income countries. In this episode of our Lid is On podcast, Yasmina Guerda spoke to WHO’s focal point for suicide prevention, Dr. Alexandra Fleischmann, and to Sheilla Akwara, a singer from Kenya and suicide survivor, now working with youth to share messages of hope.