World Cancer Day is observed on 4 February each year to draw attention to this serious public health problem.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), cancer kills more than 7.5 million people a year and there are 13 million new cases of cancer every year.
WHO says that cancer is not only a problem in developed countries but also in low and middle income countries.
Derrick Mbatha reports.
Duration: 2'45"
Family planning is the most important life saving intervention you can provide to a girl or a woman, says the head of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin was at a recent meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where Heads of State and Government made new commitments to speed up the reduction of maternal death in the continent.
Dr. Osotimehin sat down with UN Radio’s May Yaacoub and discussed UNFPA’s commitments towards reducing maternal death.
Duration: 2’30”
A humanitarian aid convoy travelled to northern Syria this week, bringing blankets and tents to thousands of people who have been surviving in makeshift camps, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) announced on Friday.
UNHCR says this marks the first time its staff were able to travel to the distant north-west of the country, where winter supplies are desperately needed.
Dianne Penn reports.
Duration:2'31"
Access to family planning and advancing the rights of young people are the 2013 priorities for the UN Populations Fund (UNFPA), says the agency’s head.
Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, the Executive Director of UNFPA, spoke to UN Radio’s May Yaacoub about his Agency’s focus and achievements made so far.
Duration: 4’58”
Hospitals are places where people go to be healed, but sometimes that’s where their health and safety are compromised.
As part of the efforts to address this problem, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday released a resource package of practical tools aimed at improving patient safety in hospitals in developing countries.
The resource package was co-developed by frontline health professionals through a pioneering programme known as the African Partnerships for Patient Safety (APPS).
"Modern stereotypes of indigenous identity do not define us as indigenous peoples, but oppress us from reaching our full potential as leaders in our communities," wrote Steven Brown, an aborigine from Australia.
He spoke at the first international expert group meeting on indigenous youth held at the United Nations from the 29th to the 31st of January.
Gerry Adams spoke with Steven Brown about his thoughts on the meeting’s theme--identity, hopes and challenges--and Australian society’s treatment of its indigenous population.
Duration: 2'34"
Dr. Marleen Temmerman, head of the Department of Reproductive Health and Research at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva, joined the agency late last year because she believes it can play a very prominent role in meeting the unmet needs of so many women in the area of reproductive health and services.
Dr. Temmerman talks to Beng Poblete-Enriquez about her priorities and recalls an early experience in Kenya where a 15 year-old pregnant girl died in her arms from a ruptured uterus.
Duration: 4'30"
As the French and Malian forces continue to retake towns from rebels in northern Mali, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) is preparing for a possible return of displaced people to their homes.
Thousands of people have fled northern Mali where ethnic Tuaregs have been fighting with the Malian government forces for autonomy.
Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are a symbol of the lack of justice experienced by Palestinians, a human rights body contends.
The three lawyers who comprise the fact-finding mission appointed by the UN Human Rights Council, say the settlements are maintained through a system of total segregation that infringes on the rights of Palestinians.
Their findings come in a report published on Thursday.
Dianne Penn reports.
Duration: 2'16"
Andrea Landry, a proud representative of the Anishinaabe, one of the First Nations or indigenous people of North America, is at the UN for the first international expert group meeting for indigenous youth which wraps up on Thursday.
Although she’s pursuing a Masters in Communications and Social Justice at the University of Windsor in Canada, Andrea remains actively engaged in advocacy at home and abroad.
