Global

The International Day for People of African Descent is being celebrated for the first time on 31 August 2021.
PAHO

UN marks first International Day for People of African Descent

31 August 2021
UN Affairs

The UN on Tuesday celebrated the enormous contributions the African diaspora has made in every field of human endeavour, marking the first-ever International Day for People of African Descent.  

The use of leaded petrol or gasoline ended globally in July 2021.
Unsplash/Sippakorn Yamkasikorn

End of leaded fuel use a ‘milestone for multilateralism’

30 August 2021
Climate and Environment

The global phase-out of leaded fuel represents a “milestone for multilateralism”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday, marking the end of a 20-year campaign to eliminate a major threat to the health of people and the planet.

In Indonesia many people rely on forest biodiversity for their livelihoods.
CIFOR/Ulet Ifansasti

Secretary-General calls for bold action to end biodiversity crisis

30 August 2021
Climate and Environment

With one million species at risk of extinction, UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Monday called for greater leadership and political will to end the biodiversity crisis.

The Community Museum for Historical Memory in Rabinal, Guatemala, dignifies the memory of victims of killings and enforced disappearances in the area. (file)
UNDP Guatemala/Caroline Trutmann Marconi

UN chief calls for action to end enforced disappearances

30 August 2021
Human Rights

UN Secretary-General António Guterres has urged countries to fulfil their obligations to prevent and prosecute cases of enforced disappearance, a “cowardly practice” which the COVID-19 pandemic has made even more difficult to combat.

A vaccination campaign against COVID-19 is launched in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, with the vaccines received through the COVAX initiative.
© UNICEF/Ariette Bashizi

Vaccine inequity causes ‘dangerous divergence’ in COVID survival rates

27 August 2021
Health

The global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines is progressing at “two alarmingly different speeds”, UN agency leaders said in a statement on Friday, noting that less than two per cent of adults are fully vaccinated in most low-income countries compared to almost 50 per cent in high-‑income nations. 

 

Migrant girls and boys attend soccer school on weekends where they receive support to improve their socialization and have more opportunities for integration into their host communities.
IOM Costa Rica/Allen Ulloa

More children than ever before live as migrants or refugees, outside their birth countries – UNICEF

27 August 2021
Migrants and Refugees

More girls and boys than ever are on the move, with 35.5 million having lived outside their country of birth in 2020 and an additional 23.3 million displaced internally, according to a new report by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) published on Friday.

Children stand outside the tent where they live in a remote desert camp in southern rural Homs, Syria.
© UNICEF/Abdulaziz Aldroubi

Pioneering report continues to help children survive conflict

26 August 2021
Peace and Security

The UN has verified 266,000 cases of grave violations against children in more than 30 conflict situations across Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America over the past 16 years, two top UN officials said on Thursday – marking 25 years since the Organization released a groundbreaking report on the issue.

UN News Podcast
UN News

No Denying It episode 1: Ezra Miller Introduces Chief Dana Tizya-Tramm

26 August 2021
Climate and Environment

In the first episode of the No Denying It climate action podcast series, actor Ezra Miller introduces Chief Dana Tizya-Tramm, of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation in Canada, who is helping Arctic communities to become more sustainable.

Cape Verde should be able to immunize 70% of its population by the end of the year
UN Cabo Verde

Coming months critical for future pandemic preparedness: WHO chief

25 August 2021
Health

The next three months will be a critical period for stepping up global collective action against future pandemics, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday, pointing to three major meetings on the international agenda. 

The number of people globally living with hypertension has doubled to 1.28 billion since 1990.
Unsplash/Mufid Majnun

High blood pressure now more common in low and middle-income countries, new report finds

24 August 2021
Health

The vast majority of people with high blood pressure, or hypertension, – a serious medical condition that significantly increases the risks of heart, brain, kidney and other diseases – live in low and middle-incomes countries, a World Health Organization (WHO) report released on Wednesday has revealed.