SDGs

A farmer works in a rice field in Bagré, Burkina Faso.
© FAO/Alessandra Benedetti

Food systems transformation a ‘silver lining’ in COVID crisis: UN deputy chief

28 July 2021
Global

A sustainable and prosperous planet can only be achieved through working together and in solidarity, the UN Deputy Secretary-General said on Wednesday at the end of a major global food security meeting.

UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed meets women producers at a farmers’ market in Circo Massimo, Rome.
UN Photo

Farmers the ‘lifeblood of our food systems’, deputy UN chief highlights, ahead of key summit

24 July 2021

Farmers, especially women and indigenous people, work tirelessly to put food on our tables. UN Deputy Secretary General Amina Mohammed met on Saturday women producers at a farmers’ market in Circo Massimo, Rome, ahead of the Food Systems Pre-Summit taking place next week.

FAO has provided aquaculture training to displaced men and women so they can breed fish for their own consumption and for sale.
© FAO Cameroon

FROM THE FIELD: Cameroon’s displaced, get hooked on fish

18 July 2021
Africa

Cameroonians who have been displaced by conflict and climate change in the north of the West African country are turning to aquaculture as an alternative source of income, thanks to support from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

An older man in Peru receives a COVID-19 vaccination.
© UNICEF/Jose Vilca

Act now to provide COVID-19 vaccines for all: ECOSOC President

16 July 2021
Global

Ensuring COVID-19 vaccines for all will be critical if the world is to defeat the pandemic, the President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), Munir Akram, said on Friday in his address to the closing its high-level segment.

Floods have affected cities across Europe, including Zurich in Switzerland.
Unsplash/Claudio Schwarz

Deadly flooding, heatwaves in Europe, highlight urgency of climate action

16 July 2021

Heavy rainfall that has triggered deadly and catastrophic flooding in several western European countries, is just the latest indicator that all nations need to do more to hold back climate change-induced disasters, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Friday.

Workers stack bricks at a factory near Dhaka in Bangladesh.
World Bank/Scott Wallace

‘Deeply negative impact’ of COVID pandemic, reverses SDG progress

15 July 2021
Global

Closing a key international development forum on Thursday, the deputy UN chief observed that a year of “immense challenges” has reversed progress on meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

A strong, sustainable and inclusive recovery from the COVID pandemic is needed to keep the promise of the 2030 Agenda.
© UNICEF/Ashmita Parelkar

UN chief says race to reach SDGs ‘can and must’ be turned around 

13 July 2021
Global

The COVID pandemic has taken four million lives, devastated the global economy, pushed a further 124 million people into extreme poverty and continues to inflict profound suffering – dramatically impacting progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the UN chief said on Tuesday at a key international forum. 

A Somali resident sells meat at a market in Hudur, where food shortages continue to cause suffering.
UN Photo/Tobin Jones

‘Tremendously off track’ to meet 2030 SDGs: UN chief  

12 July 2021
Global

Between 720 and 811 million people in the world faced hunger in 2020 – some 161 million more than for 2019  – the UN Secretary-General said on Monday; “new, tragic data”, which indicates the world is “tremendously off track” to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. 

Young displaced people who have returned home in South Sudan are learning new engineering skills.
IOM 2021/Aleon Visuals

FROM THE FIELD: South Sudan’s displaced youth, help power change

10 July 2021
Africa

Young people who were displaced by conflict in South Sudan have returned home to power change in their community.

Nearly one-third of all children in Haiti are in urgent need of emergency relief
© UNICEF/Manuel Moreno Gonza

A third of Haiti’s children in urgent need of emergency aid: UNICEF

9 July 2021
Americas

Nearly a third of all children in Haiti – numbering around 1.5 million - are in urgent need of emergency relief due to rising violence, insufficient access to clean water, health and nutrition, said the UN Children’s Fund UNICEF on Friday.