Rome, 5 May 2025 — The recent outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Europe and the introduction of an exotic virus strain into the Near East underscore the urgent need for early detection and enhanced biosecurity measures to minimize the impacts of the disease, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
GENEVA,6 May 2025 — A global report published by the World Health Organization (WHO) highlights that the underlying causes of ill health often stem from factors beyond the health sector, such as lack of quality housing, education and job opportunities.
Credits: iStock / JP Tinoco | Impoverished neighborhood “favela” clinging to a steep hillside in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The newWorld report on social determinants of health equityshows that such determinants can be responsible for a dramatic reduction of healthy life expectancy – sometimes by decades – in high- and low-income countries alike.
5 May 2025 — Twelve years ago, Nimco was forced to flee her home in Mieso, Ethiopia with her nine children when violence erupted between Somali and Oromo communities. They left everything behind, their home, land, and source of income.
()* — The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) warned on Friday [] that a worsening funding crisis is placing refugees – who cannot return home due to war or persecution – in increasing danger.
With humanitarian resources running dry, critical support for millions of forcibly displaced people is under threat.
UNHCR said that two-thirds of countries hosting refugees are already severely overstretched and urgently need support to continue providing education, healthcare and shelter.
UNITED NATIONS, New York, 2 May 2025 – “This week, I assisted 19 deliveries – two of which were life-threatening emergencies,” said Espérance, a midwife at Kyeshero General Hospital in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“We’re working in difficult conditions, with the fear of not being able to save everyone. But we’re holding on.”
(UN News)* — Countries must do everything to ensure that free and independent news reporting can thrive, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said on in a message to mark World Press Freedom Day.
“Amidst spiraling conflict, climate chaos, growing divisions, and a rapidly changing digital landscape, a free press is more vital than ever,” said Volker Türk.
UN Photo/Fardosa Hussein | Journalists in Somalia attend a press conference. (file)
Furthermore, “the media help us understand the world around us and encourage critical thinking and dialogue.”
Threats and deaths
Free and independent media are the best antidote to disinformation but press freedom is under threat in every region of the world, he warned.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres briefs reporters on 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, awarded to journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov. UN Photo/Evan Schneider
In a world plagued by conflict and division, World Press Freedom Day highlights a fundamental truth:
By Elshaday Gebeyehu, Jessica Lawson and Elizabeth Bryant | World Food Programme*
WFP warns millions at risk of growing hunger and malnutrition as country is buffeted by a raft of shocks
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Seven-month-old Eldana counts among millions of malnourished children in Ethiopia. The WFP support she receives may soon run out, due to lack of funds. Photo: WFP/Michael Tewelde
22 April 2025 — At a crowded health post in northern Ethiopia, Belaynesh Berihu cradles tiny daughter Eldana, as a health worker slips a coloured tape around the infant’s arm to gauge malnourishment.
“She eats very little, she doesn’t have an appetite,” says Berihu, whose daughter weighed less than 2 kg at birth. Berihu, too, is painfully thin – surviving on a diet of mostly wheat and teff-based bread.
(UN News)* — Lifesaving operations everywhere continue to be shut down by sweeping funding cutbacks which will result in millions of people dying, the UN’s top aid official said on Wednesday [].
“Cutting funding for those in greatest need is not something to boast about…the impact of aid cuts is that millions die,” warned Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher.
(UN News)* — Faced with mounting debt and economic stagnation, middle-income countries have issued a call for financial reform, sustainable investment, and a roadmap to escape the so-called “middle-income trap,” at a UN-backed international conference held in Manila, Philippines, which concluded on Tuesday [].
The High-Level Conference of Middle-Income Countries (MICs), held on 28 and 29 April, was attended by senior representatives from 24 MICs, many of which are highly indebted, leaving them little room for spending on developing their economies.
FMD is a highly contagious viral disease affecting cloven-hoofed animals, including cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, and various wild species. ©FAO
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 