SDGs

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Angelique Kidjo engages with children in the Housh el Refka informal settlement, in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley.
©UNICEF/Diego Ibarra Sanchez

UNICEF’s women Goodwill Ambassadors, give voice to the voiceless

24 September 2021
Global

Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in mid-August, the world has continued to watch anxiously, as the fate of women and girls throughout the country hangs in the balance.

Local school children eat their meals at a primary school in Xay District, Lao PDR.
FAO/Manan Vatsyayana

No improvement in young children’s diets over past decade: UNICEF

22 September 2021
Global

There has been little sign of improvement in the diets of the world’s youngest children over the last ten years, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said on Wednesday. 

An aerial view over the UN headquarters in NY shows the giant 11,000 square meters (118,000 sq ft) biodegradable ephemeral fresco "Work in Progress II".
Valentin Flauraud for Saype

UNGA76: Giant eco-friendly artwork set to inspire world leaders

18 September 2021

A new 11,000 square metre ‘ephemeral fresco’ created by Swiss artist Saype, has set the stage at UN Headquarters in New York, to welcome world leaders for the General Assembly High Level Week. It shows two children building the world of the future using origami, highlighting the participation of young people. 

Indigenous women’s groups perform a Tlalmanalli opening ceremony to kick off the Generation Equality Forum in Mexico.
UN Women/Dzilam Mendez

UN Women’s feminist roadmap tackles triple crises of jobs, care and climate 

16 September 2021
Global

The UN’s gender equality and empowerment organization on Thursday published a flagship feminist plan for economic recovery and transformation, which aims to learn the lessons of the past, and seize the opportunity to handle COVID-related crises better.

People cross a flooded river in western Haiti after a bridge was washed away by Hurricane Matthew. (file)
MINUSTAH/Logan Abassi

‘Tipping point’ for climate action: Time’s running out to avoid catastrophic heating

16 September 2021
Global

The temporary reduction in carbon emissions caused by global COVID-19 lockdowns did not slow the relentless advance of climate change. Greenhouse gas concentrations are at record levels, and the planet is on path towards dangerous overheating, a multi-agency climate report published on Thursday warns. 

Across the world, more incidents of extreme weather events are being recorded.
WMO/Daniel Pavlinovic

Climate and weather related disasters surge five-fold over 50 years, but early warnings save lives - WMO report

1 September 2021

Climate change and increasingly extreme weather events, have caused a surge in natural disasters over the past 50 years disproportionately impacting poorer countries, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) said on Wednesday.

Kaede Maegawa is competing for Japan at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.
Kaede Maegawa

Tokyo Paralympics: leaping towards a more inclusive society

28 August 2021
Global

Innovators are joining Paralympians to discuss how sport can help to build a more inclusive society in a series of online discussions organized by the UN to coincide with the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, which continues until 5 September.

The active engagement of youth is central for stable societies and to avert the worst threats to sustainable development, including the impacts of climate change.
ICAN/Lucero Oyarzun

Youth need ‘seat at the table’ to lead struggle for better future: Guterres

12 August 2021
Global

Young people are on the “frontlines of the struggle to build a better future”, the UN chief said on Thursday, International Youth Day.

People in sanction-targeted countries like Venezuela sink into poverty because they cannot get the essential services they need.
OCHA/Gema Cortes

Punishment of ‘innocent civilians’ through government sanctions must end: UN experts 

11 August 2021
Global

Unilateral coercive measures by some governments are denying many people around the world the right to personal development, as well as holding back sustainable national development, four independent UN human rights experts said on Wednesday. 

A wildfire burns in a national park in Oregon, USA.
Unsplash/Marcus Kauffman

IPCC report: ‘Code red’ for human driven global heating, warns UN chief

9 August 2021
Global

Climate change is widespread, rapid, and intensifying, and some trends are now irreversible, at least during the present time frame, according to the latest much-anticipated Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, released on Monday.