UN News - Global perspective Human stories

• The world must ‘wake up and help Sudan out of the nightmare of conflict’ says WHO’s Tedros
  Sudan’s health system is “near collapse” after 16 months of war have left the country and its people facing what the UN’s top health official described on Sunday as the “perfect storm of crises”, which the world is largely ignoring.
• Investing in clean air can saves lives and combat climate change
  The UN Secretary-General is marking ‘Clean Air Day’ with a call for global investment in solutions that tackle climate change and the increasing public health, environmental, and economic harm caused by air pollution. 
• Climate change: ‘Graveyard of glaciers’ lays bare existential threat of melting ice
  Iceland´s glaciers are retreating so rapidly that future generations may wonder how the ancient island nation got its name. No surprise then that the land of the Vikings was chosen to house the world’s first global glacier graveyard which was unveiled at a ceremony last month, close to the capital Reykjavik.
• UN leads search for synergy on climate and development
  Governments, experts and civil society representatives met in Brazil this week for a UN-backed conference to examine solutions that address the interlinked challenges of the climate emergency and the sustainable development crisis. 
• Millions impacted by ‘catastrophic and massive floods’ in Bangladesh
  Recent “catastrophic and massive floods” in Bangladesh have affected millions of people across the country, including those in Cox’s Bazar where nearly one million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar live alongside host communities, spokesperson William Spindler told journalists in Geneva on Friday. 
• Mpox: Equitable vaccine access crucial for Global South
  As African countries grapple with a deadly mpox outbreak, the UN independent expert on the right to health on Friday stressed that equitable access to vaccines is crucial in the race to save lives.
• UNICEF renews school protection call in Ukraine amid ‘deadly reality’ of attacks
  Continued Russian attacks across Ukraine this week made for a tragic start to the new school year, a senior official with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement on Friday. 
• Gaza: 160,000 more children vaccinated against polio in southern Gaza
  More than 160,000 children were vaccinated in southern Gaza on Thursday, the first day of a polio vaccination campaign there, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said on Friday.
• Sudan war: Rights probe demands wider arms embargo to end ‘rampant’ abuse
  Top human rights investigators into Sudan’s brutal war called on Friday for a country-wide arms embargo as they recounted harrowing testimony of victims of horrific sexual attacks whose bodies are treated as a “theatre of operation” by fighters acting with total impunity.
• World News in Brief: Aid trucks on Ukraine frontline, Africa schools close due to insecurity, Georgia rights defenders
  UN humanitarians continue to reach beleaguered communities stranded on the frontline in Ukraine. An inter-agency convoy delivered three trucks of aid to a community in the Kherson region on Wednesday – the ninth this year that has managed to get through.
• Catastrophic hunger doubles in 2024; Gaza and Sudan worst hit
  The number of people experiencing catastrophic hunger has surged more than twofold in 2024, due largely to the ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Sudan, according to new figures released by the UN on Thursday.
• UN strongly condemns ‘tragic death’ of Olympian Rebecca Cheptegei
  The United Nations has mourned the loss of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei, who died at a hospital in Eldoret, Kenya, on Thursday, just days after reportedly being set on fire by a boyfriend. 
• Over half a million people severely impacted by unprecedented flooding and windstorms in Yemen
  Unprecedented floods and winds have displaced thousands of families, destroyed homes, and severely damaged critical infrastructure, impacting over half a million people in Yemen, the UN migration agency (IOM) said on Thursday.  
• Gaza: Polio vaccination campaign moves to southern areas
  The second phase of a two-round campaign to vaccinate over half a million young children in Gaza against polio began in Khan Younis on Thursday, the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, said in a post on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter. 
• We must do more to keep the air we breathe clean: UN weather agency
  Unchecked climate change, wildfires and air pollution continue to have “a spiralling, negative impact on health, ecosystems and agriculture”, with millions of deaths attributed to dirty air, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
• Private donations boost UN support for war-torn Gaza
  From celebrities to civil society, a growing number of people around the world are providing unprecedented support for UNRWA, the UN agency supplying a lifeline to two million Palestinians trapped in war-torn Gaza.
• Guterres underlines support for China-Africa partnership
  Joint efforts by China and Africa can spark new momentum for development on the continent, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Thursday, at a high-level meeting in Beijing. 
• UN demands hostage release, urges protection and aid for Gaza civilians
  Top UN political and humanitarian officials on Wednesday renewed urgent appeals for the unconditional release of all hostages in Gaza, while emphasizing the need to ensure aid and protection for desperate civilians being continually displaced inside the war-battered enclave.
• Migrant shipwreck leaves 21 more missing off coast of Lampedusa
  A migrant shipwreck in the Mediterranean left another 21 missing off the island of Lampedusa, between the African coast and Malta, an Italian coast guard said on Wednesday. 
• World News in Brief: West Bank deaths, Venezuela rights violations, soaring debt worldwide
  At least 30 Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank in the week ending 2 September, including seven children – the highest number of deaths in a single week since November last year, UN humanitarian wing OCHA said on Wednesday.
• Asia-Pacific nations commit to ‘visionary blueprint’ for inclusive digital world
  At a major UN conference on Wednesday, Asia-Pacific nations pledged to bridge the digital divide and foster inclusive digital economies, stressing the importance of enhancing digital trust and literacy across the region.
• UN rights chief calls for global ‘zero tolerance’ against antisemitism
  The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Wednesday described antisemitism as an ongoing plague and “scourge on our collective humanity” which has resulted in damaging consequences for communities worldwide.
• WHO reports 71 per cent rise in cholera deaths last year
  The number of deaths caused by cholera is on the rise, according to global cholera statistics for 2023 published by the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday. 
• Ukraine: Top official underscores need to protect civilians amid ‘massive’ attacks
  The United Nations upheld the need to protect civilians in Ukraine as Russian attacks continue across the country, with at least seven people killed in Lviv  on Wednesday, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). 
• Gaza: Disease and war stalk children, despite vaccine success
  In Gaza, despite the success of the mass polio vaccination campaign so far, UN humanitarians warned on Wednesday that the very children they are trying to protect have been blighted by disease and heavily traumatized by ongoing fighting.