Trade and development

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released a report today on how attacks on Red Sea shipping are reshaping global trade routes. Higher fuel consumption from rerouted trade could result in a 70 per cent rise in greenhouse-gas emissions for these trips, and shipping costs have skyrocketed.

In Sudan, the UN refugee agency reports that 4.5 million people have been internally displaced, while 1.2 million others have fled to Chad, Egypt and South Sudan, as well as Ethiopia and the Central African Republic. That is almost 6 million people who have been forced to move since the start of fighting in April.

In Afghanistan, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reports that aftershocks continue three days after the earthquake which struck Herat Province and affected over 12,000 people. The UN and its partners are on the ground providing emergency food, shelter, health care and household aid.

The UN Conference on Trade and Development’s newly released Trade and Development Report 2023 warns of a stalling global economy this year, with growth slowing in most regions and only a few countries bucking the trend. The agency calls for a change in policy direction and institutional reforms to avert a lost decade.

Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed marked the tenth anniversary of Malala Yousafzai’s iconic speech at the United Nations with a special event on Malala Day at the UN House in Nigeria. Introducing Malala, she said despite progress, the world remains far from ensuring all girls have access to equal, quality education.

The World Health Organization announced today that 12 countries across different regions in Africa are set to receive 18 million doses of the first-ever malaria vaccine over the next two years. The roll-out is a critical step forward in the fight against one of the leading causes of death on the continent.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, in consultation with the Secretary-General of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Rebeca Grynspan, has appointed Pedro Manuel Moreno of Spain as Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) today released a report which says plastics are accumulating in the world’s soil at a high rate. The report found that plastics used extensively in farming — from plastic coated fertilizers to mulch film — are contaminating the soil and potentially threatening food security.

The World Investment Report 2022 was released today by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).  It shows that flows of foreign direct investment (FDI) recovered to pre-pandemic levels in 2021.  But, the report warns that the prospects for 2022 are grimmer.

Following is the transcript of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ press conference with Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), on the launch of the second brief by the Global Crisis Response Group, in New York today: