With the COVID-19 pandemic sparking a “communications emergency” caused by false information disseminated on social media, the UN Secretary-General is encouraging people everywhere to take a breath before sharing content online.
Given the complex and multifaceted challenges in the Persian Gulf region, the UN chief told the Security Council on Tuesday that it is important to reflect more deeply on how everyone, particularly the Council itself, can “work in unison to promote peace and security”.
Current, reliable and trusted data help us to “understand the changing world” in which we live, the UN chief said on Tuesday in his message for World Statistics Day.
The world must act now to reverse the situation in Africa’s central Sahel region, where humanitarian needs are at “a breaking point”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told a high-level conference on Tuesday to address the burgeoning crisis.
With countries and pharmaceutical companies around the world gearing up to distribute COVID-19 vaccines following trials, the UN Children’s Fund UNICEF has begun laying the groundwork for the rapid, safe and efficient delivery by buying and pre-positioning syringes and other necessary equipment.
Hunger is rising, due to factors including conflict, climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, which is putting a strain on food systems that are already failing in many countries. In today’s LIVE blog, marking World Food Day, we will look at some of the many issues and possible solutions.
Highlights
• UN chief video message
• What is sustainable agriculture?
• Food and the COVID-19 pandemic
• The business of food
An “airlift of hope” agreed by Yemen’s warring parties to return more than 1,000 detainees to their families has been welcomed by UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths, who has urged both sides to agree to further peace-building measures.
Rural women play a critical role in agriculture, food security and managing land and natural resources - yet many suffer from "discrimination, systemic racism, and structural poverty", the UN chief said on Thursday.
More than half the population of the vast Asia and Pacific region lack any social protection coverage, leaving populations vulnerable to ill-health, poverty, inequality and social exclusion, a new UN report has found.
Enormous challenges remain on the road to lasting peace in Colombia, where despite ongoing attacks and stigmatization, the vast majority of former FARC-EP fighters who laid down their weapons under a 2016 peace agreement with the Government, remain engaged in the reintegration process, the head of the UN mission in the South American country says.
