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On Handwashing Day, UNICEF warns inadequate hygiene endangers key development goalMore than 40 per cent of health facilities have no water resources within 500 metres in sub-Saharan Africa where the practice of handwashing with soap is dangerously low even though it is “one of the cheapest, simplest, most effective health interventions,” the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said today.

While reports indicate that Kunduz city centre in northeast Afghanistan remains relatively quiet, with sporadic fighting taking place on the outskirts, full conditions for the safe delivery of humanitarian assistance have not yet been restored, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The first United Nations human rights expert on albinism today issued an urgent appeal for coordinated action in southern and eastern Africa to tackle the upsurge in attacks against persons with albinism.

In Erbil today, the United Nations Envoy for Iraq discussed concerns about the recent political tension and violence in the Kurdistan region with political party leaders and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) today hosted at its 2015 telecom summit in Budapest the winners of the Young Innovators Competition, who benefited from expert mentorship to help accelerate their innovations globally through a series of workshops, pitching sessions and collaborations.

The 2015 Review of Maritime Transport, published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), underscored the role of maritime transport in helping implement a workable international sustainable development agenda.

The United Nations Support Office for the African Union Mission in Somalia (UNSOA) will need to be “significantly” strengthened, the Under-Secretary-General for Field Support told the UN Security Council today, with its efforts reprioritized around strategic objectives set by the 15 member body and within areas of African Union operations with the Somali National Army.

The world’s ability to respond to migration and refugee movement is “being tested as never before,” the United Nations deputy chief today said speaking at the Global Forum on Migration and Development taking place in Istanbul, Turkey, while recalling some key principles underscored by the UN to address this global challenge.

The Security Council this morning extended the mandate of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) for one year, until 15 October 2016, at the UN Secretary General’s recommended force levels of up to 2,370 troops and 2,061 police.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Hilal Elver, has commended Morocco’s achievements in reducing extreme poverty and eliminating hunger through crucial economic and social reforms, while also urging the authorities to reach all regions, paying particular attention to those living in remote areas and vulnerable groups.