August 2023 – Page 5 – Career Meaning

WHO calls for greater investment in Afghanistan’s health system

Afghanistan continues to face a humanitarian crisis brought on by decades of instability, exacerbated by severe drought and natural disasters. As a result, millions are living with poor or no access to healthcare and food, putting them at severe risk of malnutrition and disease outbreaks. WHO added that the vulnerability of women and girls has further…

Scorching ‘new normal’ as world buckles under extreme heat: WMO

Heatwaves sweeping large parts of the world offer yet another reminder that extreme weather events boosted by human-induced climate change have become “the new normal”, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned on Friday.

Champion woman boxer knocks out hate in Central America

“Knock out hate,” declares Yokasta Valle who has suffered discrimination both for being a woman in a male-dominated sport and as a migrant who journeyed to Costa Rica from Nicaragua. “Many of my colleagues told me that if they, as men, could not become champions, even less so could I as a woman,” she says.…

Bridging troubled waters amid deluge, drought in the US

A global approach to tackle the ongoing water crisis is needed as vulnerable communities in the United States face historic deluge and drought – issues very much in the spotlight at the forthcoming UN-supported World Water Week. Traditional totems tower over the coastal village of Taholah in Washington state, home to the Quinault Indian Nation, an…

First Person: ‘Immense psychological injuries’ following 2003 attack on UN Baghdad

Khaled Mansour, now a writer and journalist, was the WFP spokesperson in Iraq at the time and narrowly missed the massive explosion which killed 22 of his UN colleagues. On World Humanitarian Day which was established to mark the 19 August attack, he reflects on his life since and what he has learnt. UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré…

Guterres condemns assault against UN peacekeepers in Cyprus

Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said in a statement issued on behalf of Secretary-General António Guterres that several members of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) had been injured while UN vehicles had also been damaged inside the buffer zone that divides the Turkish Cypriot north and Greek Cypriot south. Security Council mandate Mr. Dujarric said…

First Person: Iraqis ‘not abandoned’ after 2003 attack on UN Baghdad

The then New York-based Elpida Rouka had accompanied the Executive Director of the Office of the Iraq Programme on a mission to Baghdad and survived the deadly explosion which killed 22 of her UN colleagues. The 19 August attack is commemorated annually by World Humanitarian Day. “A young 25-year-old barely two years into the UN at…

Building a digital army: UN peacekeepers fight deadly disinformation

Designing ways to fight back against falsehoods that can trigger tensions, violence, or even death, the UN has been monitoring how mis- and disinformation and hate speech can attack health, security, stability as well as progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). “It has become clear that business as usual is not an option,” UN…

DR Congo: Children facing worst cholera outbreak in six years

Across the country, there have been at least 31,342 suspected or confirmed cholera cases and 230 deaths in the first seven months of 2023 – many of them children. The worst affected province, North Kivu, has seen more than 21,400 confirmed or suspected cases, including more than 8,000 children under five, according to the Ministry…

First Person: Family death ‘turning point’ in South Sudanese humanitarian’s life

She is currently deployed with the UN humanitarian affairs office, OCHA, to the north of her country, supporting refugees who are fleeing conflict in Sudan. She has been speaking to UN News ahead of World Humanitarian Day which is commemorated annually on 19 August. “Saving lives became a passion of mine when I was 15. One of…