SDGs

The Permanent Representative of Pakistan, Munir Akram (right), presents his credentials to UN Secretary-General António Guterres in November 2019.
UN Photo/Mark Garten

New ECOSOC President outlines focus on pandemic, SDGs and climate action

23 July 2020
UN Affairs

Now is the time to implement policies and commitments to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and implement the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the new President of one of the UN’s main bodies said on Thursday.

On 23 April 2020, a child washes dishes in the Maarat Misrin camp north of Idlib, Syrian Arab Republic.
© UNICEF/Omar Albam

News in Brief 23 July 2020

23 July 2020
News in Brief
  • COVID threats and opportunities for Arab region: Guterres
  • Temporary Basic Income proposal: UNDP
  • School funding boost for 900,000 youngsters
Audio -
3'43"
Carrots are displayed at Agadir's Suk Market in Morocco.
FAO/Alessandra Benedetti

‘Unaffordability of healthy diets’ must be overcome

13 July 2020
Interviews

The number of hungry people worldwide continues to rise, according to the latest UN report on the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World.

The joint report by UN agencies gauges whether the Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger remains achievable.

Speaking on the need to improve not only the food production system, but also the efficiency of global resources to support it, the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Assistant Director General and Chief Economist Maximo Torero, said in an interview that more than three billion people still “can’t even afford the cheapest healthy diet”.

Mr. Torero spoke to FAO’s Charlotta Lomas.

Audio -
7'24"
Madina Walizada, a young entrepreneur in Kabul, Afghanistan.
UN Australia

Online learning boosts struggle for equal opportunities in Afghanistan

9 July 2020
Interviews

When you are a girl, growing up surrounded by war and violence in a country like Afghanistan, it’s hard to study and finish your education, due to social barriers and sexual discrimination, one young Afghan has told UN News.

But a new online learning app is helping break through some of those barriers, allowing girls to learn about topics that enable them to feel confident, and to create business models that are more inclusive.

Audio -
7'25"