'Unseen' News and Views – By Baher Kamal & The Like
Worldwide, 81 per cent of school-aged children are not active enough. Photo: WHO
The warning is bold and comes from the United Nations top health organisation, which is urging people to get up and get active.
And the risks of inactivity are expanding alarmingly: according to a new document by the World Health Organization (WHO), less and less people are active in many countries – with nearly a quarter of all adults and more than 80 per cent of adolescents being too sedentary.
Expressing shock at the scale of the devastation in war-ravaged city of Aleppo, the top United Nations refugee official on 1 February 2017 made an impassioned plea for the world to stand in solidarity with those suffering from the effects of conflict there in Syria, as well as in other places such as Iraq, Somalia and Yemen.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi (centre) walks past destroyed ancient buildings in the old city of Aleppo, Syria. Photo: UNHCR/Bassam Diab
“There are people here, some of them are returning to these ruins, who need help, immediate help. They are cold, they are hungry, they need to work to earn some money, they need the elementary things in life in this very ancient city,” said Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, presently in Aleppo as part of his mission to Syria.
Reacting to the recent suspension by the United States of its longstanding refugee programme, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on 1 February 2017 said resettlement is often “the only possible solution” for people fleeing conflict and persecution, and that the US policy, which bars entry of Syrians into the country, “should be removed sooner rather than later.”
Secretary-General António Guterres addresses reporters at UN Headquarters. UN Photo/Manuel Elias
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 