Month: September 2018

Conflicts and extreme climate change threatens access to food in 39 countries – UN agriculture report

Unrelenting conflict and rapid climate change is continuing to reshape agriculture across the world, and contributing to major food shortages across 39 countries, which continue to rely on help from the United Nations to meet their food needs, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Thursday. FAO’s Crop Prospects and Food Situation report, spelled […]

Somewhere, every five seconds, a child under-15 dies: new UN report

Around 6.3 million children under the age of 15, died from mostly preventable causes last year, the equivalent to 1 child dying every 5 seconds, according to a new report compiled by a group of United Nations agencies. Newborn babies account for half of the deaths. The new mortality estimates study, was released on Monday […]

‘Time for important decisions,’ head of UN in Afghanistan tells Security Council

With parliamentary elections one month away and a major ministerial conference planned for November in Geneva, the United Nation’s Special Representative for Afghanistan briefed the Security Council on Monday, noting that “preparations are on track” but that many challenges lie ahead, including increased security concerns. “It is a time for important decisions in Afghanistan”, said […]

FROM THE FIELD: Rwanda’s Green Villages benefit poorest

An innovative approach to supporting the poorest and most vulnerable in Rwanda, is helping to address environmental problems and achieve ambitious development goals there, according to the UN Development Programme, UNDP. The “Green Village” concept, a Rwandan government initiative which is supported by UNDP, aims to tackle the African country’s growing natural resource challenges – […]

‘Direct existential threat’ of climate change nears point of no return, warns UN chief

The world risks crossing the point of no return on climate change, with disastrous consequences for people across the planet and the natural systems that sustain them, the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned on Monday, calling for more leadership and greater ambition for climate action, to reverse course. The pledge made by world leaders in the Paris […]