What is Past is Prologue: Lessons Learned from Combating Pan-Epidemics
By Daniel R. Lucey
A UN High-Level Panel appointed 2 April 2015 by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated in its 25 January 2016 report titled Protecting Humanity from Future Health Crises: Report of the High-level Panel on the Global Response to Health Crises that, The Ebola outbreak in West Africa was a preventable tragedy. If the outbreak had been detected faster, and concerted international action had been mounted more rapidly, the spread of the disease could have been contained, and thousands of lives could have been saved.
The Human Rights Dimensions of Zika
By Alexandra Phelan & Lawrence O. Gostin
Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases reveal the root causes of ill-health worldwide: poverty, inequality, and discrimination. The current Zika virus outbreak is no different, exposing systemic injustices in global health. How can we safeguard human rights during the Zika epidemic and beyond, including international law, justice, and health equalities?
Promoting Gender Equality for Innovation
In September 2015 the international community adopted the 2030 Agenda, which included 17 Sustainable Development Goals. While these goals cover a range of issues almost all of them have goals related to gender embedded in them. This is in large part due to the realization by governments, civil society and other stakeholders that when women are included across all sectors of society communities benefit.
World Meteorological Day: as extreme weather becomes 'the new normal,' UN urges bold climate action
23 March 2016 – Observing the World Meteorological Day, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned today that extreme weather events are becoming the new normal and bold climate action is needed to face the future now.
Only by responding decisively to the climate challenge can we avoid the worst impacts of climate change and lay the foundations of a world of peace, prosperity and opportunity for all, the UN chief said in a message on the Day.
The window of opportunity for limiting global temperature rise to well below two degrees Celsius – the threshold set under the Paris Agreement adopted last December – is narrow and rapidly shrinking, Mr. Ban warned, noting that the effects of a warming planet will be felt by all, including rising sea levels, and extreme weather events, which are becoming the new normal.
World Water Day Reminds Us of the Value of a Precious Resource
World Water Day is commemorated each year on 22 March and serves as a time to remind people of the precious resource that we often take for granted. Some 650 million people, almost one in 10 of the world&rsquos population, do not have the access to improved sources of drinking water and one in three lacks improved sanitation, putting them at risk of infectious diseases and premature death.
When Home is Where the Harm Is: Combating Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in the Home
For many people the home is a safe space where they feel protected and secure, but for too many women and girls around the world, home is where they face violence and abuse at the hands of family members. A recent conference entitled When Home Is Where the Harm Is: Family Law Reform to Challenge Gender-Based Violence sought to explore solutions to this problem that impacts millions of women globally.
Happy International Pi Day!
Pi Day is celebrated today, 14 March, round the world. Pi (Greek letter π) is the symbol used in mathematics to represent a constant — the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter — which is approximately 3.14159. Pi has been calculated to over one trillion digits beyond its decimal point. As an irrational and transcendental number, it will continue infinitely without repetition or pattern. While only a handful of digits are needed for typical calculations, Pi's infinite nature makes it a fun challenge to memorize, and to computationally calculate more and more digits.
In this post Dr. Balkrishna Shetty, former Ambassador of India to Bahrain, Senegal and Sweden, looks back on his life with Pi.
Consumerism and Climate Change: How the Choices You Make Can Help Mitigate the Effects of Climate Change
This is the fourth article of the UNAI Food Security and Climate Change series. Schools and departments which specialise in climate change and food security at UNAI member institutions were asked to submit articles highlighting research and work encompassing the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals and to showcase the importance of sustainable agriculture to mitigate the dangerous effects of climate change, whilst ensuring present and future food security. Please note that the articles are for discussion, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations.
Global Models Must Meet Grassroots Action to Deliver Climate Solutions for Farmers
This is the third article of the UNAI 'Food Security and Climate Change' series. Schools and departments which specialise in climate change and food security at UNAI member institutions were asked to submit articles highlighting research and work encompassing the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals and to showcase the importance of sustainable agriculture to mitigate the dangerous effects of climate change, whilst ensuring present and future food security. Please note that the articles are for discussion, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations.
'The world needs science and science needs women,' says UN on new International Day
11 February 2016 – More than ever today, the world needs science and science needs women, the Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said today marking the first International Day of Women and Girls in Science.
The Intimate Relationship between Food Security and Land
This is the second article of the UNAI 'Food Security and Climate Change' series. Schools and departments which specialise in climate change and food security at UNAI member institutions were asked to submit articles highlighting research and work encompassing the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals and to showcase the importance of sustainable agriculture to mitigate the dangerous effects of climate change, whilst ensuring present and future food security. Please note that the articles are for discussion, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations.
The World's Food Supply is Made Insecure by Climate Change
This is the first article of the UNAI 'Food Security and Climate Change' series. Schools and departments which specialise in climate change and food security at UNAI member institutions were asked to submit articles highlighting research and work encompassing the newly adopted Sustainable Development Goals and to showcase the importance of sustainable agriculture to mitigate the dangerous effects of climate change, whilst ensuring present and future food security. Please note that the articles are for discussion, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations.
Food Security, Climate Change and the Sustainable Development Goals
With the population predicted to increase to over 9.6 billion people by 2050, and food demand set to increase by between 60 and 100 per cent, the topic of increasing agricultural output to feed the growing population whilst reducing our global footprint is by far one of the biggest challenges society faces today.
Currently 1 in 9 people are defined as chronically hungry, and this chronic hunger disproportionately impacts the world's poorest people. Temperature growth has undeniably been linked with human induced greenhouse gas emissions, with the 'safe' limit of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere proposed as 350 parts per million. However, in March of 2015, carbon dioxide emissions were recorded as over 400 parts per million by NASA. These emissions levels mean increasing food production whilst reducing our per capita emissions is the only viable option in ensuring food security.
UNAI and SDSN Join Forces to Advance the Sustainable Development Goals
Combating hunger, poverty, climate change, and gender inequality while promoting good health, education, clean water and sanitation, and decent work and economic growth are just a few of the aims of the recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
To mobilize action in support of achieving the SDGs, United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) today announced a strategic collaboration to activate universities, research institutions and NGOs to advance teaching, applied research and problem solving around the SDGs.
Head of UNAI, Ramu Damodaran, said the agreement will help to generate relevant academic content and utilize academic expertise to help aid in policy development and progress on the SDGs.
New Tool Helps Communities Better Understand Climate Change
Global climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity, but communicating complex climate science to different stakeholders is a challenging task for climate scientists. Nevertheless, Article 6 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) addresses the importance of climate change communication and engaging stakeholders in the issue. It highlights the responsibility of participating countries to develop and implement educational and public awareness programmes on climate change and its effects to ensure public access to information and to promote public participation.