Global

A Chinese police officer deployed to the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), talks to a young girl whilst on patrol (file photo).
UN Photo/Albert González Farran

National ownership critical, once guns fall silent, Security Council hears

8 September 2021
Peace and Security

Although UN peacekeeping missions can help put a country on the right track following conflict, only a commitment from national governments can keep it there over the long term, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told a Security Council meeting on Wednesday to examine support for the transition towards lasting peace.  

A young boy wears a face mask as he walks through Mathare, an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya.
© UNICEF/Alissa Everett

COVID-19 Delta variant still ‘most concerning’, say WHO experts

7 September 2021
Health

Even with the emergence of the new Mu COVID-19 variant, the Delta strain remains the top concern globally, appearing to “outcompete” others, senior officials with the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.

Venezuelan refugee Emily uses her laptop at home in the Ecuadorian capital, Quito.
© UNHCR/ Ramiro Aguilar Villamar

Critical gaps in refugee education, only 34 per cent attend secondary school: UNHCR

7 September 2021
Migrants and Refugees

Two-thirds of refugee children might never get to secondary school, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) warned on Tuesday, as it called for an international effort to confront “critically low” levels of school and university enrolment.

From shifting weather patterns that threaten food production, to rising sea levels that increase the risk of catastrophic flooding, the impacts of climate change are global in scope and unprecedented in scale.
WMO/Shravan Regret Iyer

Climate action essential to cool ‘season of fire and floods’ worldwide: Deputy UN chief 

6 September 2021
Climate and Environment

With extreme weather events increasingly impacting countries across the world, the deputy UN chief on Monday underlined the importance of limiting temperature rise to the internationally agreed goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. 

A member of the indigenous community in Colombia receives a COVID-19 vaccination
OPS Colombia/Karen González Abr

WHO to G20 Health Ministers: Meet COVID-19 pledges, support regional vaccine manufacturing

5 September 2021
Health

Despite hopes that by now the pandemic would be under control, the head of the UN’s health agency told the G20 leading industrialized nations Health Ministers Meeting in Rome on Sunday that “the opposite is true”.

Pollution fills the skyline of the Chinese city of Shanghai at dusk.
© UNICEF/Roger LeMoyne

Improving air quality ‘key’ to confronting global environmental crises

2 September 2021
Climate and Environment

With environmental events becoming increasingly interconnected, a new global report on air pollution published by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on Thursday underscores that improved air quality is “key to tackling the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste”.

Dementia is one of the major causes of disability and dependency among older people worldwide.
WHO/Cathy Greenblat

Improve support for rising numbers living with dementia, urges WHO

2 September 2021
Health

More than 55 million people globally are living with dementia, and that number continues to grow, according to a new UN health agency report launched on Thursday, which notes that only one-quarter of the world’s countries have national policies, strategies or support plans in place.

No Denying It Podcast - Episode 02 Cover
UN News

No Denying It episode 2: Edward Norton Introduces Nzambi Matee

2 September 2021
Climate and Environment

In the second episode of the UN climate action podcast, No Denying It, actor Edward Norton introduces Nzambi Matee, a young Kenyan entrepreneur, who is rethinking how waste is managed and reused, with the aim of building a better society.

People wear face masks in Medellin, Colombia, to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
IMF/Joaquin Sarmiento

COVID-19: New Mu variant could be more vaccine-resistant

1 September 2021
Health

A new coronavirus “variant of interest” named Mu – also known by its scientific name as B.1.621 – is being closely monitored by the World Health Organization (WHO), the agency has said.

Two young women wait to be vaccinated in Cabo Verde.
UN Cabo Verde

COVID-19: Rich countries should donate at least 1 billion vaccine doses, says WHO panel

31 August 2021
Health

Rich countries must share their supplies of COVID-19 vaccines quickly, in line with recommendations made earlier this year by an independent panel appointed by the World Health Organization (WHO), the former co-chairs said on Tuesday.