August 2023 - Career Meaning

Yemen: Alarming surge in measles and rubella cases, reports WHO

As of July, there have been more than 34,000 suspected cases of measles and rubella reported, resulting in 413 deaths; a significant increase compared to the 27,000 cases and 220 associated deaths recorded during all of last year, reported the UN health agency. Complicating matters further is limited funding for inoculation programmes, according to Arturo…

Mexico: Rights experts ‘outraged’ over attacks on women activists

“We are outraged that those searching for forcibly disappeared family members and loved ones continue to be targeted and face violence in Mexico,” they said in a statement, issued in the wake of two recent incidents. Brutal killing Human rights defender Teresa Magueyal was shot dead while riding her bicycle in Celaya, Guanajuato state, on 2 May. Her son, José Luis Apaseo Magueyal, 34,…

Guterres calls for end to ‘atrocious crime’ of enforced disappearances

Enforced disappearance has regularly been used as a tool for instilling fear and exert control over a population. The feeling of insecurity it generates is not limited to close relatives of the disappeared, but also their communities and society as a whole. In a post on social media platform X, The UN chief said enforced…

UN Women welcomes FIFA action against Spanish football federation chief

UN Women issued a statement on Tuesday hailing the decision by the global football organization FIFA to suspend Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales for kissing star player Jennifer Hermoso on the lips without her consent, after the national team won the Women’s World Cup earlier this month. “UN Women, as a supporter of women’s…

UNICEF urges support for children, as wildfires rage across Greece

Fuelled by record temperatures and high winds, the deadly fires that began across the country in July have so far claimed 27 lives, including two children – both asylum seekers, according to news reports. They were among 18 bodies discovered by Greek authorities on 22 August in the national forest of Dadia, in the northeast,…

UN appeals for nuclear test ban amid ‘alarming rise in global mistrust’

In his message marking the International Day against Nuclear Tests, Secretary-General António Guterres appealed for key countries to ratify the international treaty that bans experiments for both peaceful and military purposes. ‘Recipe for annihilation’ “This year, we face an alarming rise in global mistrust and division,” he said. “At a time in which nearly 13,000…

With COVID-19 ‘here to stay’, new tools essential to continue fight: Tedros

The partnership, called the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP), was launched in 2020, to facilitate timely, equitable and affordable access to COVID-19 health products through public health oriented, transparent and non-exclusive licensing agreements. “COVID-19 is here to stay, and the world will continue to need tools to prevent it, test for it and treat it,”…

Sudan: ‘Civilians need life-saving assistance now,’ says UN relief chief

The latest funds, approved by Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths, builds upon previous support, bringing the total CERF funding for the crisis to $60 million. “As humanitarian needs soar in Sudan with critically low funding, I have approved an additional $20 million from CERF,” Mr. Griffiths said in a post on social media platform, X.…

Niger spiralling into ‘protection crisis’ following takeover: UNHCR

UNHCR’s representative in Niger, Emmanuel Gignac, said that sanctions imposed on the country by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) following last month’s military takeover do not include any exemptions for humanitarian aid. Mr. Gignac observed that food and commodity prices, already climbing before this crisis, jumped after sanctions were introduced. If humanitarians…

Ukraine: Widespread learning loss continues due to war, COVID-19

“Inside Ukraine, attacks on schools have continued unabated, leaving children deeply distressed and without safe spaces to learn”, declared Regina De Dominicis, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, who recently returned from the country. “Not only has this left Ukraine’s children struggling to progress in their education, but they are also struggling to…