Month: September 2019

Cities: a ’cause of and solution to’ climate change

Cities around the world are the “main cause of climate change” but can also offer a part of the solution to reducing the harmful greenhouses gases that are causing global temperatures to rise according to UN-Habitat Executive Director Maimunah Mohd Sharif. Ms. Sharif will be joining world leaders at United Nations headquarters in New York next […]

UN and Red Cross chiefs appeal for end to use of explosive weapons in cities

With some 50 million people in urban areas suffering from the impact of armed conflict, war in cities “cannot be back page news”, the UN Secretary-General and the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Wednesday. António Guterres and Peter Maurer have issued a joint appeal which calls on countries and warring parties […]

Attack on Saudi facilities risks dragging Yemen into ‘regional conflagration’: UN Envoy

Attacks against oil facilities in Saudi Arabia over the weekend, claimed by rebel fighters in Yemen, are a sign that the war-torn country could be drawn into even greater conflict, the top United Nations official there told the Security Council on Monday. Special Envoy Martin Griffiths said there is “no time to waste” in ending […]

Five avoidable deaths per minute shows urgent need for action on patient safety

With at least five people dying every minute due to unsafe health care, the World Health Organization (WHO) is urging medical professionals, policy makers, caregivers and patients to take urgent action to ensure no one is harmed while receiving treatment. “Speak up for patient safety!” is the slogan for the first World Patient Safety Day, observed […]

Number of migrants now growing faster than world population, new UN figures show

The growing number of international migrants has now reached 272 million, outpacing the growth rate of the world’s population, according to new data from the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), released on Tuesday. The figures reflect a jump from 2010, when the global number was at 221 million, and currently international migrants […]