Rome, 24 April 2024 (FAO)* – According to the latest Global Report on Food Crises (GRFC), nearly 282 million people in 59 countries and territories experienced high levels of acute hunger in 2023 – a worldwide increase of 24 million from the previous year.
This rise was due to the report’s increased coverage of food crisis contexts as well as a sharp deterioration in food security, especially in the Gaza Strip and the Sudan.
(UN News)* — Climate change shocks caused record levels of disruption and misery for millions in Europe in 2023 with widespread flooding and severe heatwaves – a new normal which countries must adapt to as a priority, the UN weather agency said on Monday [].
New data published jointly by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Copernicus Climate Change Service confirmed fears that that 2023 was the joint warmest or second warmest year on record in Europe, depending on the dataset selected.
(UN News)* — Against the backdrop of a humanitarian crisis and gang violence in Haiti, UN agencies are warning that children are suffering not just from a lack of schooling but also through witnessing violence.
Students in the capital Port-au-Prince have missed hundreds of hours of class time over the past year and now, now, more than one million Haitians are facing emergency levels of acute food insecurity, according to a new UN-backed report.
ACCRA, Ghana, Apr 3 2024 (IPS)* – Developing countries are being blamed for having borrowed and spent irresponsibly. But they have only been doing what foreign powers and financial interests have urged them to do.
Ndongo Samba Sylla
Since the 2008 global financial crisis, developing nations have been told to borrow massively from private finance, even at exorbitant interest rates, to scale funding up ‘from billions to trillions’.
With progress towards sustainable development often in reverse, servicing external debt now blocks progress. Many governments have cut back spending in line with conditions or advice from powerful foreign economic agencies.
Current account tales Many still believe all national economies should have trade or current account surpluses with others – typically citing Germany’s and Japan’s post-war booms. But of course, not all countries can have surpluses simultaneously.
A young mother in Madagascar has been describing how she was forced to make a 200km emergency journey on challenging rural roads to a specialist regional hospital after she experienced difficulties giving birth at home.
UN News/Daniel Dickinson | Young mothers recover in the maternity ward of the Androy Regional Referral Hospital.
“I thought I was going to lose my baby and die on the journey to hospital.”
The chilling words of Samueline Razafindravao, who had to make the harrowing hours-long trip to the nearest specialist hospital in Ambovombe town in the Androy region of southern Madagascar after it became clear she might lose her child if she did not seek urgent medical attention.
UNITED NATIONS, Apr 2 2024 (IPS)* –– Faced with a continued cash flow crisis, the United Nations in Geneva (UNOG) will partially close down – for the second time since December last year— as it scales back its operations, including building closures, official travel restrictions, and budgetary cuts on spending.
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United Nations, Geneva
The UN is studying plans to close the Palais des Nations beginning 22 April. Only conferences would run, but some of the offices would shut.
In the earlier cutbacks, some of the Geneva offices remained closed or partially closed from 20 December last year to 12 January 2024.
Ameenah Gurib-Fakim, PhD, Former President of the Republic of Mauritius
Dr. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim
PORT LOUIS, Mauritius, Apr 3 2024 (IPS)* –– The title of this piece is not mine.
It’s from the President of Turkiye calling for a reform of the United Nations Security Council.
It has since become a motto in the UN reform campaign encapsulating the shared resentment at a global system that gives the five Permanent members – The P5 of the UN Security Council – the United States, France, Britain, China and Russia – unfair and often destructive veto powers that undermines the very ideals for which the UN was established.
Nairobi, 27 March 2024 (UNEP)* -– Households across all continents wasted over 1 billion meals a day in 2022, while 783 million people were affected by hunger and a third of humanity faced food insecurity.
Food waste continues to hurt the global economy and fuel climate change, nature loss, and pollution. These are the key findings of a UN Environment Programme (UNEP) report published today, ahead of the International Day of Zero Waste.
14 March 2024 (UNICEF)* — Most people know that you can’t survive without water. But the truth is slightly more nuanced. You need more than just water – you need SAFE water.
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UNICEF/UN0211984/Noorani
You also need safe toilets to keep the environment clean, and as well as soap and water to stop the spread of disease.
Find out more about why safe water, sanitation and hygiene are so important:
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 