Although women’s economic participation benefits society, they continue to face barriers in the labour market such as gender wage gaps and legal restrictions.
That’s according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which recently hosted a panel discussion exploring ways to advance women’s economic empowerment and equality.
Investing in training is critical to expand the tech sector in Africa, according to Rwanda’s Minister of Youth and ICT (information and communications technologies).
Jean Philbert Nsengimana said his government has supported tech entrepreneurs and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by providing a “hub” where their ideas can be turned into businesses.
The fight to win back the youth from the clutches of radical Islamists is being waged in cyberspace and on social media, the head of a regional organization promoting Muslim solidarity has said.
Hameed Opeleyeru of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation or OIC spoke at a UN Security Council debate on “combating extremist ideology”.
The organization has set up a Centre for Dialogue, Peace and Understanding whose primary mission is to counter incitement to all forms of terrorism, violence and extremism.
If the world is to fight poverty then it must also fight climate change, a top official with the World Bank has said.
The Bank’s Vice President for the Middle East and North Africa, Hafez Ghanem, made the declaration at the latest UN climate change conference in Morocco, known as COP22.
He said two years ago, poor farmers there saw their cereal crops decline by half due to a severe reduction in rainfall.
There have been “huge positive developments in Somalia” over the past four years despite the ongoing terrorist threat posed by militants of the Al-Shabaab group, according to the head of UN Police in the country.
Somalia's first democratic elections in 47 years are underway as the country continues to recover from civil conflict and the ravages of recurrent droughts.
Christoph Buik is the Police Commissioner with the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia, known as UNSOM.
In a world experiencing an overload of information, people need to practice deep thinking or philosophy, according to a representative from the UN’s educational, scientific and cultural organisation- UNESCO.
To commemorate World Philosophy Day which takes place annually on the 17th of November, the agency will host a twelve hour nocturnal event called “A Night of Philosophy.”
Increasing taxes on tobacco is an “effective and important measure” for governments to prevent chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), also known as chronic bronchitis.
That view is expressed by Nils Billo from the World Health Organization (WHO).
According to the latest WHO estimates, currently 64 million people have COPD and that the disease could become the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2030.
In the past decade, armed groups have been responsible for 60,000 deaths in Sub-Saharan Africa alone, according to the head of UN peacekeeping operations.
Herve Ladsous made the remarks at an event to mark the tenth anniversary of community violence reduction (CVR) programmes in peacekeeping.
These community-driven programmes aim to combat insecurity and include mediation and development of alternative livelihoods for youth involved in armed violence.
Jocelyne Sambira, United Nations.
Agriculture is a fundamental part of global efforts to combat the impacts of climate change, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The UN agency is calling for a transformation of the sector that will see more sustainable management of water and other natural resources
Boosting agriculture can also help to reduce poverty and hunger while also creating jobs, especially for young people.
Mobile operators worldwide are looking to bring more than four billion people into the internet era.
Through an industry association known as the GSMA, they are working with governments and other partners to reduce barriers to access, such as network coverage and cost.
Leaders in the field of information and communications technology (ICT) are in Bangkok this week for an annual gathering called ITU Telecom World.
It has been organized by the ITU, the UN agency that deals with ICT-related issues.
