Deaths

Migrant deaths from the tragedy off Lampedusa, one of the deadliest migrant-ship disasters.
UNHCR/ANSA

Migrant and refugee deaths rise by a third: IOM

6 January 2017
General News

The number of migrant and refugee deaths worldwide, rose by a third last year compared with 2015, according to preliminary data from the UN Migration Agency (IOM).

Almost 7,500 people on the move died or went missing in 2016.

Audio -
People search through rubble caused by the earthquake in Pedernales canton in Manabí province of Ecuador.
UNICEF/UN017164/Castellano. (file photo)

Earthquakes, tsunamis are “biggest killers” but mask climate threat

13 October 2016
General News

Of all the natural disasters that can befall nations, earthquakes and tsunamis are the biggest killers, the UN has said.

Audio -
Dadaab camp.
UNHCR

Rain exacerbates cholera outbreak at refugee complex in Kenya

5 January 2016
General News

A culmination of issues, including excess rains, has exacerbated a cholera outbreak at the world’s largest site for displaced people, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has said.

Audio -
South Sudanese refugees wait to be registered at a crossing into Ethiopia earlier in 2015.
UNHCR/R. Riek

South Sudan President urged not to “betray” hopes for peace

29 September 2015
General News

South Sudan’s President has been urged by the UN Secretary-General not to “betray and disappoint” international hopes for peace in his country.

Political infighting in the world’s youngest country has led to the deaths of thousands of people over the past two years.

Audio -
Water familiarisation in one of 10 SwimSafe portable pools in Danang, Viet Nam.
SwimSafe

New UN report urges greater efforts to prevent drowning deaths among children

23 May 2012
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and a partner organization are urging greater use of effective and cost-efficient measures to prevent drowning, which new research shows is a major killer across parts of Asia.

Efforts to cut maternal deaths falter in developing countries, UN study finds

12 June 2001
Death associated with pregnancy and childbirth - a peril that has been virtually eliminated in developed countries - still affects over 500,000 women in the developed world, according to a new study released today by the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO).