SDGs

‘Warp speed’ technology must be ‘force for good’ UN chief tells web leaders

Technological advances are happening “at a warp speed,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday in Lisbon, Portugal, as a major three-day Web Summit got underway.

‘Colossal human loss’ threatens Asia, Pacific as hunger fight stalls – UN agencies

Well over half the world’s undernourished people live in the Asia-Pacific region, making it a critical part of the global push to end extreme hunger and malnutrition in line with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDGs), cautioned a new United Nations report on Friday.

Fighting ‘existential crisis’ of encroaching desert sands

In a move described as a landmark decision, the Group of Earth Observations (GEO) – a UN-backed partnership set up to improve Earth observation data-sharing and availability, to benefit all life – has launched a global initiative to reverse the “existential crisis” created by desertification and land degradation.

Plastic-busting fungi may help tackle pollution, climate change: UN Environment

When it comes to helping green our world, organic mushrooms from the local market may be just the tip of the iceberg. A new United Nations-backed report reveals that fungi could help ween the world off its plastic addiction, by degrading polyurethane in just a matter of weeks.

Weekly migration of 1.4m to cities can contribute to ‘disasters’

The migration of some 1.4 million people every week to cities around the world “can strain local capacities, contributing to increased risk from natural and human made disasters’” according to the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.

FROM THE FIELD: Urban Mexico moves toward better livelihoods, cleaner cities

Mexico is improving the lives of the 80 percent of its inhabitants residing in cities, by pushing towards less polluted, more eco-friendly environments, thanks to support from the UN.

‘Essential step’ towards universal health care made at pivotal UN conference

United Nations Member States have unanimously vowed to strengthen primary health care, as an “essential step” towards achieving universal health coverage for all.

Funding boost for sustainable development data agreed at UN conference

In a declaration agreed at the close of the 2018 UN World Data Forum in Dubai on Wednesday, leaders in the field agreed on measures to boost funding for data and statistical analysis, to speed up progress towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.

‘Never give up’: UN chief urges all who serve, marking UN Day

Marking the 2018 United Nations Day, which falls on 24 October, Secretary-General António Guterres is urging the men and women of the UN, and those they serve, to “never give up” tackling the world’s many challenges.

Governments, businesses ‘walk the talk’ for investment in sustainable development: UN forum

Business and government leaders from around the world have gathered at a major United Nations conference in Geneva, in search of innovative and strategic solutions to complex investment and development challenges.