Children have suffered “unspeakable violence” during war but most of them remain positive, a senior UN envoy said ahead of World Humanitarian Day (WHD) on 19 August.
Leila Zerrougui, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, was referring to a photo exhibit entitled “When I Grow Up”.
South Sudan’s leaders “should not accept impunity” when it comes to violence against aid workers and humanitarian facilities, a senior UN official in the country has stated.
UN Humanitarian Coordinator Eugune Owusu has condemned a recent brutal attack at a hotel in the capital, Juba, in which a local journalist was killed and several civilians were raped and beaten.
The incident, committed by men in uniform, occurred during renewed clashes last month between government and opposition forces.
Climate change is not a “vague concept” but reality, and it is having an impact on people everywhere.
That’s the opinion of Patricia Espinosa Cantellano who has been appointed Executive Director of the UN climate change secretariat, the UNFCCC.
The veteran diplomat from Mexico was in Paris last December for the signing of the landmark international treaty which seeks to limit global temperature rise to below two degrees Celsius.
Every year, 2.7 million babies die within the first month of life and roughly the same number are stillborn, according to data provided by the World Health Organization (WHO).
As most of these deaths go unrecorded, countries cannot fully understand what action needs to be taken to prevent more infants from dying.
Dianne Penn reports on how WHO is “Making Every Baby Count.”
Duration: 2'40"
Sixty health workers in Bentiu, South Sudan, have been trained in how to address the large numbers of injuries or deaths resulting from conflicts or natural disasters.
The training was conducted by Ghanaian peacekeepers with the UN mission in the country, UNMISS.
Jacob Ruai spoke to the Senior Medical Officer with the Ghanaian battalion, Dr Rilwany Sulley.
He explained why training in handling mass casualties is valuable in a country like South Sudan.
Duration: 2’32”
Farmers battling drought in Ethiopia have “a small window of opportunity” this September to plant a last set of crops for the year, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The UN agency is appealing for US $45 million in additional funding to support farmers so they can produce food for millions of their fellow citizens who are facing hunger.
FAO reports that Ethiopia has staved off the worst of the drought, which was followed by flooding, brought on by the weather phenomenon known as El Niño.
Former child soldiers need to be treated humanely and “not as menaces” to society, an advocate for children’s rights has said.
Kabba Williams was one of those forcefully recruited in Sierra Leone by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels, at the age of 7.
Rescued and reintegrated into his community with the support of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and partners in 1994, he later earned a degree in literature and linguistics at Njala University.
Although China has made significant progress in slashing extreme poverty, the country still faces challenges in fighting this problem.
Human rights expert Philip Alston is in the country this week to find out more about the global giant’s efforts to address the issue.
This is Mr Alston’s first visit to China since being appointed UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights in 2014.
Liling Huang asked him what he hopes to learn.
One young Ugandan studying agriculture in Central America has big plans to return home and help African farming become more climate-friendly.
Tom Okot, who was internally displaced from his war-torn home region of Northern Uganda, is a student at Earth University, in Costa Rica.
He was one of the 60 winners of a multilingual essay contest who visited UN Headquarters in July, to take part in a global youth forum.
Doing the right thing is “good business” and companies that don’t see the connection won’t survive in the long run.
That’s what the head of a non-profit that helps businesses build a more just and sustainable world said, on the margins of a UN debate on ending forced labour.
People need to make the connection between the long-term commercial survival of businesses and operating responsibly.
