In a media briefing on Tuesday, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus highlighted the consequences of funding suspensions, including disruptions to HIV treatment, setbacks in polio eradication and limited resources for responding to mpox epidemics in Africa. “The suspension of funding to PEPFAR, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, caused...
Since 26 January, nearly 3,000 people have been killed and 2,880 injured in attacks by the M23 and their allies “with heavy weapons used in populated areas, and intense fighting against the armed forces of the DRC and their allies”, the High Commissioner said, as UN Member States weighed setting...
The waiver allows the continuation or resumption of “life-saving humanitarian assistance” including HIV treatment. That means 20 million people living with HIV and whose medication is funded by the US can continue to receive treatment. “That’s 20 million out of the 30 million people living with HIV in the world,” said...
Clementine Nkweta-Salami said the latest outbreak of hostilities in South Kordofan’s capital, Kadugli, has reportedly claimed at least 80 civilian lives and left scores more injured. She condemned the reported use of women and children as human shields there, along with the obstruction of humanitarian aid and the detention of...
The analysis underscores the devastating impact of toxic air on young lives, with air pollution now linked to nearly one in four deaths of under fives in the region. Exposure begins in the womb, increasing risks of premature birth and low birth weight, and continues throughout childhood, impairing lung development,...
Fighting escalated sharply in late January, as Rwanda-backed M23 rebels seized control of parts of North Kivu, including areas near the regional capital Goma, and advanced towards South Kivu. Before the latest violence, mpox cases had been stabilizing, said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, in a speech to the agency’s...
In a briefing on Friday, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric reported that more than 1,600 men, women and children have fled. Two-thirds are seeking refuge with host families and over 500 sheltering in three newly established displacement sites, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Children at risk The situation...
The internet also remains down in the provincial capital and only mobile phone networks are functioning, with M23 fighters apparently in control of “a significant portion of the city” after intense clashes with the Congolese army, UN agencies reported on Wednesday. Aid teams from the UN World Health Organization (WHO) “cannot move...
The newly released World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2025, sheds light on the deceleration of the global economy. This is impacting labour markets and stalling progress on recovery from previous economic downturns. In 2024, global employment expanded in line with a growing labour force, keeping the unemployment rate steady,...
The World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2025 report shows that despite withstanding a series of mutually reinforcing shocks, global economic growth has stagnated and remains below the pre-pandemic annual average of 3.2 per cent. The report produced by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), highlights the enduring impact...
The measure, issued by the de facto Ministry of Economy on 26 December, enforces a two-year-old decree prohibiting women from working with both national and international NGOs. In his statement, Mr. Türk emphasised the devastating impact on the delivery of critical humanitarian aid in Afghanistan the decree will have, where...
Briefing the Security Council in New York, Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, Khaled Khiari, warned the Middle East was witnessing another dangerous escalation. He said that attacks in Israel and Yemen, as well as in the Red Sea, are of grave concern, and warned that further...