Each year, more than 21 million adolescent girls in low and middle-income countries become pregnant. About half of these pregnancies are unintended. Nine in 10 adolescent births occur among girls who were married before turning 18. “Early pregnancies can have serious physical and psychological consequences for girls and young women,” said Dr Pascale Allotey, Director […]
The UN relief coordination office, OCHA, said on Tuesday that this marks the longest period without aid or commercial supplies entering the Strip since the conflict began in October 2023. “Right now, it is probably the worst humanitarian situation ever seen throughout the war in Gaza,” OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke told journalists at a briefing […]
The children were among the patients being treated in the hospital’s emergency ward for injuries from previous bombings in the area, said the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF. “This heinous attack is a blatant violation of children’s rights. Children are being killed and injured in the very places where they should be safest from harm,” said […]
That is the warning from a new report by the UN Spotlight Initiative, which finds that climate change is intensifying the social and economic stresses that are fuelling increased levels of violence against women and girls. The report finds that extreme weather, displacement, food insecurity, and economic instability are key factors increasing the prevalence and severity of […]
On 6 March, armed groups linked to the deposed Assad regime ambushed forces of the caretaker administration led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, targeting military and internal security forces as well as several hospitals. Mr. Pedersen described the violence as “sectarian and retaliatory,” with reports of entire families executed and widespread fear among the civilian population. “The coordinated […]
The analysis underscores the devastating impact of toxic air on young lives, with air pollution now linked to nearly one in four deaths of under fives in the region. Exposure begins in the womb, increasing risks of premature birth and low birth weight, and continues throughout childhood, impairing lung development, reducing cognitive function, and contributing […]
It follows a campaign last year that reached hundreds of thousands of young children under the age of 10. Polio virus was recently detected in wastewater samples in Gaza, indicating that circulation is ongoing, thus putting young lives at risk. The campaign is being led by the Palestinian Ministry of Health and implemented with support […]
“We need to move fast,” said UNICEF representative in the country Peter Hawkins. “I was in Hudaydah over the past three days…I went through the western lowlands, where there are people on the streets, on the side of the roads, begging and looking for assistance. They have given up. We cannot give up.” Speaking from […]
Last month was 1.75 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial level and 0.79°C above the 1991-2020 average, despite expectations that the La Nina weather phenomenon might bring cooler temperatures. In 2015, the international community agreed to try to limit average global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Surprise data The January data was “surprising” even […]
The findings, published in Nature Medicine on Monday, warn that if current trends continue, the world will see 3.2 million new breast cancer cases and 1.1 million related deaths each year by mid-century. The burden will be disproportionately felt in low- and middle-income countries, where access to early detection, treatment and care remains limited. “Every […]
Ten years. That’s how long Yemenis have been putting their lives on hold – through airstrikes, through hunger, through loss. A decade of war has left Yemen’s infrastructure in ruins and its people exhausted. And yet, as the eleventh year begins, the world seems not to notice Yemen’s plight. Today, close to 20 million people […]
Latest information gleaned from patent filings featuring in WIPO’s Technology Trends report on the Future of Transportation, offers a tempting glimpse of a not-so distant and enticing future where there’s less traffic pollution, fewer snarl-ups and air travel to the other side of the world – made possible in just a few hours. “Analysis of patents […]
In an alert on Tuesday, UN aid coordinators OCHA said that six humanitarian workers have been killed since January – the latest victim was shot during clashes last week near a hospital in Masisi Territory about 80 kilometres west of Goma, in North Kivu. The same clashes reportedly killed three other civilians and injured a […]
And as supplies of food, medicine and other supplies run low, aid teams are increasingly concerned about growing anxiety in bread lines outside the enclave’s remaining bakeries. “Most attempts by humanitarian organizations to coordinate access with Israeli authorities within #Gaza result in #AccessDenied,” the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, said in an online post. Five out of seven such […]
In a crucial year for climate action which, in accordance with the Paris Agreement, seeks to limit global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, World Radio Day is dedicated in 2025 to highlighting the power of broadcasting to bring climate change issues to prominence. That’s the goal of Climate Radio Route. Radio democratises Radio is […]
The agency is this week celebrating the 20th anniversary of the entry into force of its Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) – one of the most widely embraced UN treaties in history. The Convention provides a legal framework and a comprehensive package of evidence-based tobacco control measures which include large pictorial health warnings […]
UNICEF’s Rosalia Bollen, who’s on the ground there, said that hundreds of children had been killed and injured – some with severe burns, shrapnel lodged in their bodies, fractures and amputations. “Even on 18 March with that very heavy, intense bombing, children still kept hope because they thought maybe it’s a one-off, but it’s not,” […]
“Last year brought both successes and disappointments in global efforts to tackle the triple planetary crisis,” said UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen, introducing the agency’s latest Annual Report. She also pointed to ongoing geopolitical tensions that are hindering environmental cooperation. “Environmental multilateralism is sometimes messy and arduous. But even in complex geopolitical times, collaboration across […]
UNAIDS said that at least one status report on the impact of cuts has been received from 55 different countries up to the start of this week. That includes 42 projects that are supported by the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and 13 that receive some US support. Two days after President […]
According to local health authorities in Gaza, 830 people were killed between 18-23 March, including 174 women and 322 children. A further 1,787 were injured. “The acts of war that we see bear the hallmarks of atrocity crimes,” said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN aid coordination office, OCHA. “Hundreds of children and other civilians have […]