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UN-Habitat and UNICEF have held a series of over 15 interactive workshops across Lebanon to promote uptake of the jointly collected neighbourhood profile data and use of an easy-to-navigate online portal by local authorities, other United Nations agencies, local and international NGOs, and civil society groups.

The United Nations Secretary-General on Monday urged governments to “do everything in their power” to support free, independent and diverse media, which the UN’s top human rights official highlighted as “a cornerstone of democratic societies”. 

In a message on World Press Freedom Day, marked annually on 3 May, Secretary-General António Guterres underscored the importance of reliable, verified and accessible information.

Parts of the online economy have boomed since COVID-19 began, while some pre-pandemic big-hitters have seen a reversal of their fortunes in the last year, amid widespread movement restrictions, UN economists have found.

Former United Kingdom Prime Minister Gordon Brown called on Monday for the world’s richest nations to underwrite COVID-19 vaccination in poorer countries, highlighting the need to raise some $60 billion over the next two years. 

Speaking during the regular briefing by the World Health Organization (WHO), and ahead of next month’s G7 summit, Mr. Brown, who is the UN’s Special Envoy for Global Education, said inaction will only lead to greater global division. 

Increasing the participation of uniformed women in peace operations is a “key priority” for the United Nations, the head of peacekeeping told a High-Level Launch Event on Wednesday.

In addition to the challenges that all Syrians have faced during a 10-year conflict, women have experienced sexual and gender-based violence, early and forced marriage and trafficking, the country’s UN envoy told the Security Council on Wednesday. 

Against the backdrop of violence, terrorism, displacement, instability, destitution and COVID, Special Envoy Geir O. Pedersen said via video conference that as more men are killed and injured, women have had to become leaders of their households. 

The financial decline of many public interest media organizations worldwide has been among the dangerous side-effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday in remarks to a UN-backed event to boost support for the sector. 

With newspapers alone losing an estimated $30 billion last year, “some fear that the pandemic could become a ‘media extinction event’”, he warned. 

How a World Food Programme forest management intervention is boosting Lebanon’s green cover and helping some of its most vulnerable people put food on the table.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the workplace dangers faced by key workers who need far greater protection to do their jobs safely, the International Labour Organization (ILO) said on Tuesday.

The numbers of home workers around the world  have been swelled by the COVID-19 pandemic, putting a fresh focus on the need for employers to ensure that their employees are working in a safe environment. On the World Day for Safety and Health at Work, we look at some of the ways the UN is helping employers and governments to keep people safe, wherever they work.