Global

Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, Chef de Cabinet to Secretary-General António Guterres, addresses the Security Council meeting on women, peace and security.
UN Photo/Kim Haughton

Security Council debate on ‘women, peace and security’ spotlights prevention and gender equality links

27 October 2017
Peace and Security

At the Security Council today, a senior United Nations official called on Member States, regional organizations and civil society for greater partnership to boost women’s participation at all levels and help ensure UN peace efforts are stronger and more sustainable.

A health worker marks a boy’s finger with ink to show that he has been vaccinated against measles in India’s Gujarat State.
UNICEF/UNI133530/Pietrasik

Measles deaths fall, but world still far from eliminating disease – UN-backed report

26 October 2017
Health

Annual deaths from measles dropped below 100,000 last year for the first time, to 90,000, United Nations and other international agencies reported on Thursday, as they warned however that the world is still far from reaching goals on eliminating the disease.

Photo: World Bank/Dana Smillie
World Bank/Dana Smillie

Poor maritime connectivity hurting weaker, smaller nations – UN report

25 October 2017
Economic Development

A United Nations report out Wednesday revealed the poor maritime connectivity continues to keep smaller and weaker economies from reaching world markets, highlighting the need for evidence-based improvements to trading systems and procedures to address these challenges.

A nine-day-old baby boy is cradled by his mother (partially visible) in Bambaya Village in Fiama Chiefdom, Kono District, Sierra Leone.
UNICEF/Phelps

Despite drop in under-five mortality rate, 7,000 newborns die every day – UN report

19 October 2017
Health

More must be done to stop babies from dying the day they are born, United Nations agencies said in a new report issued Thursday, which argued that life-saving know-how and technologies must be made readily available – particularly in Southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa – where they are most needed.

A close-up on hands as skilled health worker takes the blood pressure of a patient. Photo Aisha Faquir/World Bank

Governments endorse UN-backed plan to tackle cancer, diabetes and other deadly diseases

19 October 2017
Health

Global leaders have pledged to take bold action to reduce suffering from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), which include the world's leading killers – heart and lung diseases, cancers and diabetes – the United Nations health agency has reported.

A delegate casts his country’s ballot during the General Assembly’s election of 15 members of the UN Human Rights Council for three-year terms beginning on 1 January 2018.
UN Photo/Kim Haughton

General Assembly elects new members to UN Human Rights Council

16 October 2017
Human Rights

The General Assembly today elected, by secret ballot, 15 States to serve on the Human Rights Council, the highest intergovernmental body in the United Nations system for matters relating to protection and promotion of human rights worldwide.

In Bangladesh, an innovative “disaster resilient village” was built in Shymnagar for a coastal village wiped out after Cyclone Aila.
UNDP Bangladesh/Nasif Ahmed

INTERVIEW: Few global issues as urgent as tackling climate and disaster risks – UN official

12 October 2017
Climate and Environment

Recent devastating natural events – from hurricanes in the Caribbean to floods in South Asia and earthquakes in Mexico – have again shone a spotlight on the importance of efforts to reduce disaster risk, and how impossible it is to achieve global development goals without addressing such hazards.

A man smokes a cigarette at a road side rest stop in rural Nepal.
World Bank/Aisha Faquir

UN health agency establishes high-level commission to tackle noncommunicable diseases

10 October 2017
Health

The United Nations health agency today announced the establishment of a high-level global commission on noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) to identify innovative ways to curb the world’s biggest causes of death and extend life expectancy for millions of people.

A rural postman of India delivers letters in Rajhastan, India.
Coomaar.N.Carthik, Courtesy of Photoshare

On World Day, UN spotlights posts’ contributions to development

9 October 2017
Economic Development

The post plays an important role in the everyday lives of people and businesses, as well as contributes to global social and economic development, the United Nations postal agency said Monday, marking World Post Day.

Nobel Laureate and UN Messenger of Peace Malala Yousafzai sits down for an interview with UN News during the high-level session of the General Assembly.
UN Photo/Mark Garten

INTERVIEW: In fighting for girls’ education, UN advocate Malala Yousafzai finds her purpose

5 October 2017
Culture and Education

In September, the Malala Fund started the Gulmakai Network to support the work of education champions in developing countries and speed up progress towards girls’ secondary education around the world.

The 20-year-old, who will be attending Oxford University, spoke to UN News about the need to increase investment in education, the importance of allowing girls to be who they want to be, and when it was that she discovered the power of her own voice and the purpose for her life.