Mr. Ban Ki-moon begins second term in office as President and Chair of GGGI

On February 20, 2020 – Mr. Ban Ki-moon, 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations, has officially begun his second term in office as the President of the Assembly and Chair of the Council of the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI). In his letter to Members of GGGI, President and Chair Mr. Ban reaffirmed his commitment to raise awareness of the Institute and its work to tackle climate change and help countries accelerate achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

EDUCATION CANNOT WAIT INVESTS $48 MILLION IN CHAD AND ETHIOPIA

In just one week, Education Cannot Wait (ECW), with the Governments of Ethiopia and Chad and implementing partners, launched two new multi-year resilience programmes in Chad (7 February) and Ethiopia (14 February) with US$48 million in seed funding over three years to roll out crucial programme activities and catalyse additional resources.

International Summit on Balanced and Inclusive Education in Djibouti concludes with establishment of new Organisation of Educational Cooperation

At the Closing Ceremony of the III ForumBIE 2030, 38 governments, civil society organisations and academic entities became the first to sign the Universal Declaration of Balanced and Inclusive Education (UDBIE). Furthermore, with the objective of achieving the aspirations and commitments contained within the UDBIE, 30 signatories, including governments and civil society organisations, agreed to establish the Organisation of Educational Cooperation (OEC), a new international organisation from the Global South creating platforms and mechanisms of solidarity-based technical and financial cooperation and support for educational reforms.

Burkina Faso shattered by world’s fastest growing displacement crisis

The number of people displaced in Burkina Faso increased tenfold last year to over 560,000. The figure is predicted to skyrocket to 900,000 people by April as horrific violence continues to force families from their homes.

UN expresses deep distress over terror attacks

The United Nations Country Team in Kenya is deeply distressed by the rising cases of terrorist attacks on schools, teachers and learners, especially in the north-eastern regions of Kenya. While we stand in solidarity with the affected communities, we reiterate that acts of terror and hate are even more egregious when they target innocent, unarmed civilians including children.

COP 25: ‘Africa’s future depends on solidarity’ Leaders and development partners rally around climate change goals

There was standing room only as ministers, diplomats, activists and journalists gathered at the IFEMA conference centre in Madrid to mark Africa Day at the COP 25 climate meeting.

African Development Bank launches digital tool to help African youth learn to code

The African Development Bank and technology firm Microsoft today launched the ‘Coding for Employment’ digital training platform, an online tool to provide digital skills to African youth, wherever they are across the continent.

Government of Russia announces food aid for Kenya

The Government of Russia has announced a voluntary contribution of 1 million US Dollars to the World Food Programme of the United Nations for food assistance to Kenya. WFP will coordinate with the Kenyan authorities the distribution of food supplies to reach families most in need of assistance.

Hola, Madrid! African Development Bank takes the continent’s climate agenda to COP25 in Spain

The African Development Bank will on Monday kick off a campaign to plead the continent’s case at the world’s leading climate change conference.

2019 Global Gender Summit marks concrete gains and actionable goals to surge ahead on gender equality

“We’ve known it from the beginning that equality and women’s empowerment is the true way for sustainable development,” Rwanda’s Minister of Gender and Family Promotion, Solina Nyirahabimana told reporters at a 2019 Global Gender Summit press conference on Tuesday.

Cities need to pull their weight in using education to help migrants and refugees

A new policy paper by the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report at UNESCO, released ahead of the UNHCR Global Refugee Forum next month, shows the increasingly important role of cities using education of people on the move as a lever for their inclusion. It calls for international and non-governmental organisations to recognise cities as partners and for governments to clarify and support cities’ role in education.

First ladies panel seeks urgent policies to translate Africa’s demographic dividend into viable potential

“Investments in gender equality are critical to realizing demographic dividend, but we need to ensure that women have the tools to overcome the barriers they face,” First Lady of Rwanda, Jeannette Kagame told participants at a panel at the Global Gender Summit in Kigali on Monday.

Enhancing partnerships for impact

The United Nations (UN) Kenya Resident Coordinator’s Office and Council of Governors convened a high-level meeting Kenyan County Governors, and the leadership of the UN Kenya Country team to enhance a common understanding on the Kenya United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) 2018-2022 and explore areas to deepen and further collaboration.

Global Gender Summit 2019: African leaders take on the responsibility to urgently close the gender gap.

The 2019 Global Gender Summit, the first to be held on the continent, kicked off on Monday with a strong call to surge ahead on gender issues and move from commitment to action.

UNESCO launches three reports on journalists’ safety, access to information, and election coverage

UNESCO has presented three reports concerning media issues to Member States meeting at the Organization’s Headquarters for the 40th session of its General Conference. The three reports, available online in English are:

The Russian Government and the UN join to fight water hyacinth in Kenya

A major partnership between The Embassy of Russia, the United Nations in Kenya and the County Government of Kisumu will see the over 14,000 hectares of the Water Hyacinth in Lake Victoria cleared following an injection of USD 7 million by the Russian government.

The Future of Asia-Pacific’s Cities

(ESCAP news) -- The Seventh Asia-Pacific Urban Forum (APUF-7) opened today with a strong call for cities to take the lead and embrace a “can do” spirit in driving sustainable development commitments across the region.

Trade costs of non-tariff measures now more than double that of tariffs, finds new UN report

(ESCAP News) – While applied tariffs in the Asia-Pacific region have halved over the past two decades, the number of non-tariff measures (NTMs) – policy regulations other than tariffs affecting international trade - has risen significantly, according to a new report launched today by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Statement by NRC Secretary General Jan Egeland following the announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize winner for 2019:

"We congratulate Dr. Abiy Ahmed on the Nobel Peace Prize and his courageous efforts in bringing ambitious reforms to Ethiopia and offering the hand of peace to neighbouring Eritrea. The Norwegian Refugee Council is among the very few international groups operating in Eritrea and Ethiopia and assisting people in need in both countries. We have witnessed the dramatic improvement in relations between the two countries during Dr. Abiy Ahmed´s government after conflict and tension over the years produced displacement and suffering.

14 aid agencies warn of humanitarian crisis in North-East Syria

Civilians in north-east Syria are at risk and humanitarian aid could be cut off following the launch of a new military operation in the area, leading aid agencies are warning.

Kenya Plans to Leverage on Strategic Partnerships to Advance the “silicon Savannah” and Fast-track the Attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals

The Government of Kenya today signed a Communique with the Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) at the University of California, Berkeley, along with The Rockefeller Foundation, and the United Nations to inspire future action and support for the delivery of Kenya’s Big Four agenda. The agreement brings together strategic partnerships work with the Government of Kenya to build SDG focused partnerships to drive financing and innovations that help tackle complex development goals.