Climate and Environment

Men on camels and donkeys travel through a dust storm in the desert near the western city of Mao, in the Kanem Region of Chad.
© UNICEF/UNI82205/Holt

Migration and the climate crisis: the UN’s search for solutions

31 July 2019
Global

Throughout human history, migration and climate have always been connected, but in the modern era, the impacts of the man-made climate crisis are likely to extensively change the patterns of human settlement.

Morning in the streets of Melen, a slum area in the middle of Cameroon's capital Yaoundé.
UN-Habitat/Kirsten Milhahn

FROM THE FIELD: Turning waste into a business in the slums of Yaoundé, Cameroon

31 July 2019
Africa

The increasing volume and complexity of waste associated with modern economies is posing a serious risk to ecosystems and human health. Every year, an estimated 11.2 billion tons of solid waste are collected worldwide, according to the UN Environment Programme.

A young girl looks through a paneless window frame near Kabul, in Afghanistan, 2013. Civlilians in Afghanistan have borne the brunt of an almost 20 years of conflict.
UNICEF/UNI152469/Dragaj

Tuesday’s Daily Brief: Children in armed conflict, Ebola in DR Congo, human rights in Bahrain, and two International Days

30 July 2019
Global

Our main stories today cover: A new report on children and armed conflict, a day to combat human trafficking; funds needed to fight Ebola in DR Congo; UN rights office condemns the execution of two Bahraini citizens; and International Day of Friendship

Evacuation of Third Country Migrants who were stranded at a reception centre in Misrata, Libya. (File).
IOM

Tuesday's Daily Brief: Situation critical for Libya migrants, ‘dangerous paralysis’ in Israel-Palestine conflict, ‘shocking escalation’ in Syria, record heatwaves

23 July 2019
Global

Our main stories today: UN officials warn of desperate situation for migrants and refugees in Libya; the UN peacebuilding chief calls for ‘tangible steps’ to alleviate the crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and keep two-State solution alive; Idlib in Syria suffers more deadly attacks on civilians; Europe and Bangladesh deal with extreme weather events; and Angry Birds take on the climate crisis.

Young people using computers in Kampala, Uganda.
World Bank/Arne Hoel

UN Youth envoy launches coding competition to help solve climate crisis and ‘Reboot the Earth’

22 July 2019
Global

Can young coders help solve the climate crisis? The UN’s Youth Envoy launched a global competition earlier this month, “Reboot The Earth”, with support from the UN Office of Information & Communications Technology, Deloitte and SAP, to try and answer that question, fostering collaboration between the United Nations, academia, civil society, and young people to address the climate emergency.

A father holds his son, on a street near his office at the Department of Health in central Cape Town, South Africa. He participated in a UNICEF-supported program that promotes men’s involvement as equitable caregivers.
© UNICEF/Sokol

Friday’s Daily Brief: solidarity with Japan, call for DR Congo support, family-friendly workplaces, hottest June ever, Venezuela and Afghanistan updates

19 July 2019

In today’s Daily Brief: UN stands in solidarity with Japan; avoid panic over DR Congo Ebola emergency; ‘transformative shift’ needed towards family-friendly work policies; hottest June EVER; Venezuelan migrant dangers; stop targeting Afghanistan civilians call.

The World Food Programme (WFP) speeds up food distributions in the cyclone-ravished city of Beira, Mozambique.
WFP/Deborah Nguyen

Zimbabwe: Droughts leave millions food insecure, UN food agency scales up assistance 

19 July 2019
Africa

Severe drought has rendered more than a third of rural households in Zimbabwe – or around 3.5 million people – dangerously food insecure, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) revealed on Friday. 

Women farmers in a community hard hit by drought gather in Kenya. To deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals, new ways of collective action are needed.
World Bank/Flore de Preneuf

‘Stay together and step up’ action to meet Global Goals, ECOSOC President tells development forum

18 July 2019
Global

We can realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 “if we all stay together and step up our actions”, Inga Rhonda King, President of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ESOSOC), said on Thursday.

Sun drying tomatoes by local women in Luxor, Egypt, as part of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) activities on reducing food loss along the tomato value chain.
© FAO/ Egypt

World ‘off track’ to meet most Sustainable Development Goals on hunger, food security and nutrition

18 July 2019

Key parts of the Global Goals agenda linked to achieving zero-hunger are “off-track”, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Thursday, in an appeal for much greater public investment in farming.

A young boy in Bangladesh navigates a river swollen from days of monsoon rain. He is collecting plastic bottles washed into the river to sell to recyclers to help his family purchase food. (July 2019)
UNICEF/Thomas Nybo

Monsoon rains turn millions of children’s lives ‘upside down’ across South Asia

18 July 2019
Asia Pacific

Heavy rainfall, severe flooding and landslides across Nepal, India and Bangladesh have killed at least 93 children, and put the lives of millions more at risk, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), which is “responding urgently”.