What's New

The UN is marking World Water Day on Monday with a global conversation on how people value the lifegiving resource in different parts of the world, according to local needs.

“For me, water means protection”, Secretary-General António Guterres said in a message. 

New technologies have given us new ways to control diseases - crucial to fighting the COVID pandemic, and future global outbreaks, says the World Health Organization’s Chief Scientist.

Recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic should lead to stronger action to safeguard the world’s forests, a senior UN official said on Friday, highlighting how these natural resources have helped to protect health and well-being during the global crisis. 

Liu Zhenmin, head of the UN’s Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), issued the call during a virtual event to commemorate the International Day of Forests, observed annually on 21 March. 

Much of today’s racism is “deeply entrenched in centuries of colonialism and enslavement”, the UN chief said on Friday ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

“Today, apartheid lies dead. But, sadly, racism lives on – in all regions and all societies”, Secretary-General António Guterres told a meeting of the General Assembly commemorating Sunday’s international day.   

The UN weather agency on Thursday cautioned that the current onset of warmer temperatures in the northern hemisphere should not be used as a trigger to relax measures to halt the spread of coronavirus. 

New and unprecedented forms of natural disasters are most heavily felt in the agricultural industry, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Thursday.

Negative stereotypes, prejudice and perceptions towards people based on their age, not only leads to poorer health and social isolation, it is also costing economies billions of dollars, UN agencies said on Thursday, calling for urgent action to combat ageism. 

Access to water is not just about “liquid in a bottle” but instead touches on universal issues such as dignity, opportunity and equality, the UN General Assembly President said on Thursday, in opening a high-level meeting on ensuring water and sanitation are available to all. 

The COVID-19 pandemic seriously impacted all economies around the world last year, with trillions of dollars of lost earnings, UN trade and development experts UNCTAD said on Thursday, before highlighting how several countries also showed unexpected resilience, too.

Underlining that “diversity is a richness, not a threat”, UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for greater investment in promoting social cohesion and tackling bigotry in a message on Wednesday to mark the International Day to Combat Islamophobia.