coronavirus

Children are the most vulnerable victims of conflicts. The UN and the Government of National Accord in Libya launched the 2019 Humanitarian Response Plan seeking, $202 million to provide health support and protection for some 550,000 vulnerable Libyans.
UNOCHA/Giles Clarke

News in Brief 23 June 2021

23 June 2021
News in Brief
  • UN chief urges action on Libya ceasefire, foreign fighters
  • 50 million girls at risk of genital cutting by 2030
  • Small businesses unprepared for pandemic-sized climate shocks
Audio -
3'45"
School children studying at Urie Primary School, Delta State, Nigeria. (file)
© UNICEF/Apochi Owoicho

Link between education and well-being never clearer, UN pushes for ‘health-promoting’ schools

22 June 2021
Health

With school closures triggered by COVID-19 disrupting both education and access to nutritious meals, two UN agencies on Tuesday launched new measures to help improve the well-being of 1.9 billion school-aged children and adolescents around the world. 

A Shona woman is one of an estimated 18,500 stateless people currently living in Kenya.
© UNHCR/Anthony Karumba

News in Brief 22 June 2021

22 June 2021
News in Brief
  • 'Invisible' stateless people risk missing COVID jabs: UNHCR
  • Scale back on raw fish consumption in Southeast Asia, says FAO
  • Eritrea human rights: 'No tangible signs of progress'
Audio -
3'9"
Nurses are wearing masks and gloves to protect against the Coronavirus, in the health center of Port Bouet, a suburb of Abidjan, in the South of Côte d'Ivoire.
© UNICEF/Frank Dejongh

COVID-19: Vaccines donated next year, ‘too late for those who are dying today’

18 June 2021
Health

Millions more COVID vaccines need to be donated now to save lives and help the UN health agency reach the key global target of having 70 per cent of all national populations vaccinated, by the middle of 2022. 

Women in Niger prepare fields for the rainy season as part of an anti-desertification initiative.
© FAO/Giulio Napolitano

News in Brief 17 June 2021

17 June 2021
News in Brief
  • Debt suspension call for countries hit worst by COVID: Guterres
  • Drought on verge of becoming the 'next pandemic'
  • COVID-19 cases surge by more than 20 per cent week on week
Audio -
3'18"
Dateline Geneva Podcast (Cover)
United Nations

UN Catch-Up Dateline Geneva – Animals in lockdown, Tigray and COVID vaccine alert for Africa

10 June 2021
UN Catch-Up Dateline Geneva

In this week’s UN Catch-Up, we’re getting in touch with the natural world – a photo contest showing what animals make of COVID lockdowns…Plus, the week’s top news stories from UN News, including likely famine in Ethiopia’s Tigray and alarming coronavirus vaccine shortfalls in nearly all African nations. I’m your host in Geneva, Daniel Johnson, and regular guest Solange Behoteguy-Cortes is with us too for closing comments. Thanks for listening.

Audio -
15'35"
A 7-month-old boy in western Tigray eats a high energy biscuit to boost his nutrition levels.
© UNICEF/Esiey Leul Kinfu

News in Brief 10 June 2021

10 June 2021
News in Brief
  • Tigray alert, with 350,000 at risk of famine
  • Nine in 10 African nations to miss COVID-19 vaccine targets
  • Europe COVID deaths continue downward trajectory
Audio -
3'12"
A nurse prepares to administer a COVID-19 vaccination to a patient at a health centre in Kabale, Uganda.
© UNICEF/Catherine Ntabadde

Nine in 10 African nations set to miss urgent COVID vaccination goal 

10 June 2021
Health

Nine in 10 African nations look set to miss the September target of vaccinating 10 per cent of their populations against COVID-19, the World Health Organization (WHO), said on Thursday.  

Protestors calling for democracy in Myanmar.
Unsplash/Gayatri Malhotra

News in Brief 9 June 2021

9 June 2021
News in Brief
  • 'Mass deaths' alert across Myanmar: UN rights expert
  • 'Alarming' rise in antibiotic-resistant pathogens: WHO
  • G7 nations must promote more equitable COVID vaccine access
Audio -
3'
A health worker prepares a COVID-19 vaccine in Ethiopia.
© UNICEF/Nahom Tesfaye

UNICEF and celebrities appeal to G7 countries: Donate COVID vaccinations ‘now’  

8 June 2021
Health

From David Beckham to Whoopi Goldberg and Angelique Kidjo, Ambassadors for the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other agencies, have signed an open letter to the upcoming G7 Summit of world leaders, underscoring the urgency of suppling vaccine donations now.