UNFPA takes swift action in response to critical medical shortages in Northern Gaza, with Representative Dominic Allen emphasizing the urgent situation.

The United Nations recognizes the importance of happiness and well-being as universal goals and aspirations in the lives of human beings. Governments and international organizations should invest in conditions that support happiness by upholding human rights and integrating well-being and environmental dimensions into their policy frameworks. The United Nations invites everyone to celebrate the International Day of Happiness (20 March). The same day sees the release of the World Happiness Report 2024, centered around the theme of happiness for the young, the old, and everyone in between.

Two years into the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, a hospital near the front line is saving the most vulnerable citizens – babies born into war – with state-of-the-art incubators that can transport newborns between facilities and into bomb shelters at the sound of air-raid sirens. At the Zaporizhzhia Regional Perinatal Centre, the new incubators – provided with support from UNFPA and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation – are equipped to maintain optimal temperature, humidity and oxygen levels, allowing babies to be moved safely. Despite the challenges, UNFPA and its partners continue to support Ukraine to strengthen the delivery of maternal health and gender-based violence prevention and response services, reaching more than 879,000 women, girls, men and boys with such services in 2023. 

In Kabo village, men play a game with beans. The beans represent wild animals, the bag is the forest, and the players are hunters. Once the bag is empty, they all lose. This game is designed to show the consequences of unsustainable hunting on future generations' food and incomes. The Bantu and Baaka Indigenous Peoples groups in the Congo rely on wild meat as their main source of protein and income. However, overhunting, deforestation, pollution, diseases, and climate change have reduced the population of wild animals in the Congo Basin. The Sustainable Wildlife Management Programme, coordinated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and three other organizations, works to restore the balance between food security and wildlife conservation.

The incubators at Al-Helal Al-Emirati Hospital in Gaza are filled with babies who have lost their parents. Learn about this tragic situation from two doctors at the hospital and see how UNFPA is taking action.

Mali's pharmaceutical registry digitization effort aims to reduce the approval time for vital medicines and vaccines from 18 to three months, revolutionizing the country's healthcare system.

Cancer is a leading cause of death for children and adolescents. Each year, an estimated 400,000 children and adolescents develop cancer. The most common types of childhood cancers include leukemias, brain cancers, lymphomas and solid tumours. It is generally not possible to prevent cancer in children, so the most effective strategy to improve outcomes is to focus on a prompt, correct diagnosis followed by effective, evidence-based therapy. International Childhood Cancer Day, 15 February, spotlights the need for more equitable access to treatment and care for all children with cancer, everywhere.

This year's International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (6 February) focuses on the theme "Her Voice. Her Future - Investing in Survivors-Led Movements to End Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)." To reach our shared goal of ending FGM by 2030, we require more targeted, coordinated and sustained efforts. Each survivor's voice is a powerful call to action, and their choices contribute to the global movement against this harmful practice. Share #HerVoiceMatters to lead the #EndFGM movement.

The World Health Assembly designated 30 January as World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day to raise awareness of the devastating impact of these diseases on populations with lower incomes and those in situation of vulnerability, and to promote efforts for their control, elimination, and eradication.

On World Neglected Tropical Disease Day (30 January), the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling on everybody to unite and act to address the inequalities that drive neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) and to make bold, sustainable investments to free the estimated 1.62 billion people, in the world’s most vulnerable communities, from a vicious cycle of disease and poverty. The Day seeks to garner support towards the control, elimination and eradication of NTDs, in line with the programmatic targets set out in the NTD road map 2021−2030 and the commitments of the 2022 Kigali declaration.

Leprosy is a neglected tropical disease, which still occurs in more than 120 countries, with more than 200,000 new cases reported every year. The disease affects the skin, the peripheral nerves, the upper respiratory tract and the eyes. Leprosy is curable and treatment during the early stages can prevent disability. The Global appeal 2024 to end stigma and discrimination against persons affected by leprosy will be launched by WHO on 31 January 2024. The aim is to create awareness in the general community that leprosy is a disease spread by a type of bacteria and it can be easily cured.

Dr. Zuria Alberto is the leader of a mobile health team that operates in Cabo Delgado, the northernmost province of Mozambique. In this region, there are approximately 850,000 people who are displaced and living in difficult conditions due to climate crises and poverty. The mobile health workers travel by land or sea to reach women and girls living in rural and island areas of the province who may not have access to healthcare otherwise. The mobile team, supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), provides a comprehensive range of sexual and reproductive health services. This helps to reduce the risk of unwanted pregnancies, maternal mortality, and gender-based violence.

The 1962 book "Silent Spring" highlighted the devastating effects of DDT, the world's first modern synthetic insecticide, leading to increased awareness and eventual international restrictions on its use through the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants in 2004.

Despite multiple health crises, there were many reasons for hope in 2023. The World Health Organization notes that it was a record year for disease elimination, with several countries eliminating infectious diseases thanks to dedicated national efforts and collaboration between countries and health partners. At the same time, 72% of people worldwide had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, preventing severe illness and hospitalizations for millions of people. The year began with WHO responding to a major earthquake in Türkiye and Syria and ended with the horrific war in Gaza. In between, the world faced many other crises and conflicts, as well as the continuing threat of disease outbreaks and climate change.

Although COVID-19 is no longer the international public health emergency it once was, it is still circulating, and its devastating effects are still with us. Major infectious diseases and epidemics have disastrous impacts on human lives, wreaking havoc on long-term social and economic development. When the next pandemic arrives, the world must do better. On this International Day of Epidemic Preparedness (27 December), let’s act on the lessons of COVID-19, to prepare, and build a fairer, healthier world for all.