More than seven in 10 people with epilepsy in developing countries are not getting the low-cost care they need, and UN health experts said on Thursday this could lead to a “significantly higher” risk of death among sufferers than in industrialized nations.
Developments in the Middle East cannot be divorced from Israel’s military occupation of Palestinian territory and settlement-building, or Hamas’ hold over Gaza and its militant activity, a senior United Nations envoy told the Security Council on Thursday, warning that these actions “collectively erode the prospects of a two-State solution”.
The presidential election scheduled for 28 September will be a “key moment to reaffirm the legitimacy of Afghanistan’s democratic political structure”, the United Nations mission chief in the country told the Security Council on Wednesday.
Sexual violence in conflict is a “threat to our collective security” and a “stain on our common humanity”, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said in his message commemorating the International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, on Wednesday.
A record 70.8 million people fled war, persecution and conflict in 2018, UN refugee agency chief Filippo Grandi said on Wednesday, appealing for greater international solidarity to counter the fact that “we have become almost unable to make peace”.
Unabating violence, destruction and a downward sprial in overall conditions for the desperate people trapped in north-western Syria’s Idlib were in the spotlight as the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator told the Security Council on Tuesday that “we are faced with a humanitarian disaster unfolding before our eyes”.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has declared war on hate speech, telling Member States on Tuesday, that we all need to “do better at looking out for each other”.
Food continues to be taken “from the mouths of hungry little boys and little girls” in many areas of Yemen controlled by Houthi rebels, warned the head of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) on Monday, who said the agency would be forced to suspend some food assistance within days, unless agreements are finally honoured.
By the year 2050, there will be some 9.7 billion people living on Earth, says a UN population report released on Monday. However, the overall growth rate will continue to fall, and more countries will have to adapt to the consequences of an ageing population.
In a video message released in advance of the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought, marked on Monday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the world loses 24 billion tons of fertile land every year, and that the degradation in land quality is responsible for a reduction in the national domestic product of up to eight per cent every year.
