United Nations

On the penultimate day of the United Nations Water Conference, two UN agencies announced several potentially game-changing commitments that could enable countries to quickly gather data on the state of their water resources, and boost efficiency of water use for more sustainable agriculture practices. 

For the first time in more than a decade, the number of people dying from tuberculosis (TB) rose last year due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, conflicts and other crises, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.

A growing crisis is pushing a higher number of people into hunger in Haiti, the UN food agency warned on Thursday.

The head of the UN World Health Organization on Thursday spoke out forcefully against “misinformation on social media and in the mainstream media” which has falsely alleged that a new global pandemic accord being negotiated, would allow the WHO to override national sovereignty relating to a future outbreak.

Renewed diplomatic attention on Syria, and the suffering of its people following the recent deadly earthquake, create new obligations and opportunities to forge lasting peace, UN Special Envoy Geir Pedersen told the Security Council on Thursday. 

Southern African countries hit hard by tropical Cyclone Freddy are reeling from disease outbreaks, with health services stretched to the limit, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres attended an EU summit in Brussels on Thursday, seeking support for action on climate change, sustainable development and addressing the ongoing challenges linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Global trade slowed down in the second half of 2022, but demand for environmentally friendly goods stayed strong, the UN Conference on Trade and Development, UNCTAD, said on Thursday. 

Humanity is facing a “difficult truth” the UN chief said just ahead of World Meteorological Day, marked on Thursday – the damage already being caused by climate change is “making our planet uninhabitable.”

The UN Water Conference has been hailed as an opportunity to ramp up international cooperation to address water issues and avoid a looming crisis. Experts and UN officials agree that stronger partnerships are key to finding lasting solutions.

A lack of clean water is threatening the well-being and “cultural identity” of the people of Samoa and other Pacific Island nations according to the UN’s most senior representative across the region.

The UN political affairs chief has underlined the critical need to ensure funding for the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), warning that a shortfall could threaten plans to transfer security to the national forces by the end of next year.  

Glaciers are “critical to all life on Earth”, the UN chief reminded the UN 2023 Water Conference on Wednesday, warning that unless the rise in sea level due to global warming is reversed, “the consequences will be catastrophic.”

Marking the most significant global conference on water in five decades, the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) called on all nations to invest in better access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) for all.

With the converging Ramadan, Easter and Passover holidays now beginning, Israelis and Palestinians must urgently crystalize agreements reached at several recent diplomatic meetings – the first of their kind in nearly a decade – the senior UN official for Middle East peace told the Security Council on Wednesday, while warning of escalating violence and inflammatory rhetoric on both sides.

Although COVID-19 is disappearing from view, access to medicines that treat non-communicable diseases, or NCDs, remain out of reach for millions across the world, said the World Health Organization (WHO) in a new report published on Wednesday.

The world’s precious water resources are “in deep trouble” and leaders are meeting at UN Headquarters this week to address what has become a multifaceted global crisis, before it is too late. 

Tanzania confirmed its first-ever cases of Marburg Virus Disease after conducting laboratory tests in the country’s northwest Kagera region, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in a statement on Wednesday.

The adoption by Uganda’s parliament of new legislation targeting lesbian, gay and bisexual people is “devastating” and could “erode gains made over years”, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said on Wednesday.  

On the morning of the 2023 UN Water Conference, ultra-marathon runner Mina Guli has completed a year-long, campaign to run 200 marathons, raising awareness of the world’s water crisis. She completed her last run at UN Headquarters, the location of the major event, the first of its kind in almost half a century.