What's New

The Municipality of Beirut launched on Thursday the first municipal mobile health clinic, in partnership with UN-Habitat through the Mayors Migration Council’s Global Cities Fund for Inclusive Pandemic Response. The clinic will provide free and non-discriminatory COVID-19 testing and other basic medical services, to those unable to access these services, including migrants and refugees in marginalized neighbourhoods.

UN Secretary General António Guterres on Thursday urged States to take action against human trafficking, where a third of all victims are children.

Highlighting how the COVID pandemic has pushed as many as 124 million more people into extreme poverty, the UN chief insisted that “many millions” have been left vulnerable to the scourge.

A teenage girl who was sold for sex for the price of a few beers as a twelve-year-old, has told the United Nations how she was trafficked between Burundi and Tanzania in East Africa.

Some one thousand victims of human trafficking have been identified in Burundi since 2017, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The global Formula E electric race series, a partner with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP),  has grown in popularity since it launched some seven years ago, attracting the attention of major car manufacturers, changing people’s perceptions of electric vehicles, and bringing the world one step closer to a sustainable transport future.

A senior official with the World Health Organization (WHO) has highlighted the need for a global treaty on pandemic preparedness and response, urging countries to “seize the moment” and support its development. 

People being plunged into poverty during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in the killing of people with albinism, the outgoing UN appointed independent expert said on Thursday.  

Ikponwosa Ero stated that people had been turning to witchcraft “because of the mistaken belief that using their body parts in potions can bring good luck and wealth”, adding that “the majority of victims have been children.”  

A sustainable and prosperous planet can only be achieved through working together and in solidarity, the UN Deputy Secretary-General said on Wednesday at the end of a major global food security meeting.

Amina Mohammed was speaking during her closing press conference at the Food Systems Pre-Summit in Rome, Italy. 

It has never been more urgent to recommit to the spirit and fundamental principles of the 1951 Refugee Convention, the UN refugee agency said on Wednesday as it marked the 70th anniversary of the key international treaty. 

“The Convention continues to protect the rights of refugees across the world,” said Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. “Thanks to the Convention, millions of lives have been saved.” 

The UN health agency pointed out on Wednesday, World Hepatitis Day, that every 30 seconds a person dies from a hepatitis-related illness and called for all countries to work together to eliminate this preventable disease as a public health threat by 2030.  

COVID-19 infections rose eight per cent last week to more than 3.8 million, the UN health agency reported on Wednesday.  

Latest data from the World Health Organization (WHO) showed a “substantial” uptick in the Americas and the Western Pacific, which jumped 30 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively.