Switzerland ranked as most innovative country
In its latest Global Innovation Index, released on Wednesday, the World Intellectual Property Organization, WIPO, has named Switzerland as the world’s most innovative country.
The annual Index, which has been published for the last 12 years by WIPO, and a number of partners, is designed to help policy makers better understand innovation activity, which WIPO describes as a “main driver of economic and social development”.
Following Switzerland in the rankings are Sweden, the USA, the Netherlands and the UK. The country which has risen most in the rankings since 2018 is India, which jumped five places to fifty-second most innovative country.
Innovation is rated in the report by using 80 indicators, from the level of Research and development investment, to mobile-phone app creation and high-tech exports.
UNICEF delivers cash ‘lifelines’ to millions of desperate Yemeni families
The UN children’s Fund, UNICEF, has made unconditional cash payments to nearly nine million Yemenis to meet their urgent needs, as the conflict in the country enters its fifth year.
Vulnerable families reached by the Emergency Cash Transfer Project, receive the equivalent of around $30, helping them to cover basics such as food, health supplies, and education costs.
UNICEF has run the cash program since 2017, to support the poorest Yemeni families, whose situation has been made worse by the ongoing conflict.
In a statement released on Wednesday, UNICEF warned that the needs of Yemenis are “enormous”, and that much more needs to be done to alleviate the suffering of children, starting with an end to the war.
Ebola contained in DR Congo, where 91 new cases are reported
No new Ebola cases have been reported outside of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in the last week, but within the country, there have been 91 new cases of the disease, of whom some 75 have died.
In its latest Ebola outbreak report, released on Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that the cases were reported in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri.
The report comes a week after the WHO declared the Ebola outbreak an international Public Health Emergency of International Concern, following a reported outbreak in the city of Goma, near the border with Rwanda.
Since then, no new cases have been reported in Goma, or any country other than DRC.
UN agency maps out route towards zero hunger
What are the challenges ahead in the fight against hunger?
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, will be focusing on that question during a high-profile review of the agency’s work, due to begin in Rome on Friday.
The event will explore the best ways to end hunger and malnutrition, as well as looking at the growing issue of obesity.
Food security for all, is one of the Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the UN’s blueprint for a world that leaves no one behind, whilst preserving the planet.
The Goal includes ending all forms of under-nutrition, which currently affect more than two billion people worldwide.
Conor Lennon, UN News.
