Sustainable Development Goals

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, for the second year in a row, the Forum scrapped its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, for a series of online plenaries and discussions over the year ahead, under the banner of The Davos Agenda. Speaking from New York, Mr. Guterres said that thisyear’s event takes place “in the shadow of an enormously difficult period for economies, people and our planet.” According to the UN’s flagship economic forecast released last week, the world is emerging from...

More than half a million people have lost or been pushed out of their jobs in Afghanistan since the Taliban takeover, the UN International Labour Organization (ILO) said on Wednesday. In a warning that the economy has been “paralyzed” since the de facto authorities took control last August, ILO said that there have been huge losses in jobs and working hours. Women have been hit especially hard. By the middle of this year, it’s expected that job losses will increase to nearly 700,000 –...

The institution now expects the global economy to expand from a 5.9 per cent increase in 2021 to 4.4 per cent this year. The number is half a percentage point lower than predicted in October, reflecting several changes. As the new Omicron COVID-19 variant spreads, many countries have reimposed restrictions on movement, slowing the economic rebound. Rising energy prices and supply disruptions have also resulted in higher and more broad-based inflation than anticipated, notably in the...

To mark World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Sunday called for an international push to confront the inequalities that characterize NTDs, and ensure the poorest and most marginalized communities who are the most impacted, receive the health services they need. In his message for the day, WHO Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the COVID-19 pandemic has thrust millions of people deeper into poverty and affected those who already have...

More than two years since COVID-19 began disrupting office life around the world, crucial changes are needed to safeguard health while teleworking, two UN agencies said on Wednesday. In a new technical brief on healthy and safe teleworking launched on Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) outline the health benefits and risks of remote work arrangements along with the measures needed to accommodate both the shift, and the ongoing...

“We are far from where we should be – and the pandemic has pushed us even further off course”, said Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, noting that “indicators on poverty, hunger, education and jobs are all moving in the wrong direction”. Charting a forward path Although it has taken a great toll on people across the world, particularly those most vulnerable and marginalized, Ms. Mohammed echoed the Secretary-General in saying: “We are neither hopeless nor helpless”. People can...

Opening the session, the Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), Liu Zhenmin, argued that the pandemic had highlighted the critical role of social policies. “The COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated inequalities, and multiple forms of deprivation”, Mr. Zhenmin said, remembering that many countries reacted by instituting emergency measures. “One key lesson is the importance of universal access to social protection, to enhance economic and food security, in times of...

Six months after a devastating earthquake in south-west Haiti which caused the deaths of 2,200 people and injured 12,700 more, the international community is coming together with the Government of Haiti to raise up to $2 billion for the long-term recovery and reconstruction of the country. UN News explains why support is needed WFP/Alexis Masciarelli The UN estimates that around 800,000 people were affected by the earthquake. What happened? The 7.2 magnitude earthquake on 14 August...

The government of Haiti has organized a pledging conference, in the hope of raising some $2 billion to help with reconstruction, six months after the earthquake that devastation the country. 1100 It’s been a very tough 12 months for Haiti; an economic crisis, the assassination of the head of state, rising insecurity and the increased threat of kidnapping by gangs, and not to forget the ongoing threat of COVID-19, complicated an already challenging humanitarian situation in what is the...

Haiti is once more at a ‘crossroads’, six months after a devastating earthquake hit the south-west of the country, according to the UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed. The Deputy Secretary-General was speaking at an international event hosted by the Haitian Government in the country’s capital Port-au-Prince, aimed at supporting the reconstruction and recovery efforts following the earthquake which struck the mainly rural southwest of the country last August. Ms Mohammed visited...