UN News stories

19 stories found over the past 45 days
Private sector must engage in disaster risk reduction to avoid economic losses – UN

15 May 2013 – The United Nations today warned that economic losses from disasters have spun out of control and called on the world’s business community to incorporate disaster risk management to their investment strategies to avoid further losses.

Emerging information technology trends and innovation take centre stage at UN forum

13 May 2013 – More than 1,500 participants from Government, private sector, civil society and international organizations are meeting at a United Nations forum in Geneva this week to review and measure progress towards targets set almost a decade ago designed to help countries more effectively harness the power of information and communication technologies (ICTs).

The latest buzz: eating insects can help tackle food insecurity, says FAO

13 May 2013 – While insects can be slimy, cringe-inducing creatures, often squashed on sight by humans, a new book released today by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) says beetles, wasps and caterpillars are also an unexplored nutrition source that can help address global food insecurity.

UN urges political commitment, leadership to fund lagging global sanitation goals

13 May 2013 – While international targets on clean drinking water were met nearly three years ago, a joint United Nations agency report today warns that without a major funding push, some 2.4 billion people – one-third of the world’s population – will remain without access to improved sanitation in 2015.

On World Migratory Bird Day, UN calls for greater protection of habitats

11 May 2013 – As an estimated 50 billion birds commence their annual migrations, the critical staging areas they need to complete these journeys continue to be degraded or are disappearing completely, the United Nations today warned on this year's World Migratory Bird Day.

Deputy UN chief stresses need to advance sustainable tourism as cities continue to grow

08 May 2013 – The United Nations Deputy Secretary-General today encouraged governments, the tourism industry and local communities to work together to tackle the important challenge of urbanization and tourism to sustainable development.

Countries focus on ‘concrete solutions’ to build new UN-backed global climate accord

03 May 2013 – Delegates from more than 160 countries have agreed on a set of climate change policy measures as part of an ongoing United Nations-led effort to create a new, universal climate accord by 2015 to limit global warming to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) from pre- industrial levels.

UN steps up vaccination campaigns amid measles outbreaks among uprooted Syrians

30 April 2013 – The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and partners have stepped up vaccination campaigns in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey amid measles outbreaks in a region already struggling to provide humanitarian assistance to millions of people affected by ongoing conflict in Syria.

Social protection measures key in fight against child labour, says new UN report

29 April 2013 – The implementation of social protection measures can play a key role in rescuing minors from occupational bondage, a new report by the United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO) has found.

Syrian refugees straining health services in region, UN warns in new report

26 April 2013 – The refugee crisis sparked by the conflict in Syria is increasingly straining health services in surrounding countries, while refugees are finding it harder to access the quality treatment they need, the United Nations refugee agency warns in report released today.