Global Community Urged Not to Relent in Final Push to Eliminate Leprosy

When Yohei Sasakawa visited a remote village in Cameroon, he found 23 people living there.

Cities in Brazil Reap Floods after Hiding Their Rivers Underground

Acaba Mundo has fallen into oblivion, despite its apocalyptic name – which roughly translates as World’s End - and historical importance as an urban waterway. It is a typical victim of Brazil’s metropolises, which were turned into cemeteries of streams, with their flooded neighborhoods and filthy rivers.

Meaningful Dialogue Amplifies Youth Issues, Leads to Change

Young people are often the first to rebuild their communities. However, youths' diverse challenges cannot be addressed without meaningful dialogue, says Klaus Beck, Regional Director of UNFPA APRO ai.

Poor Families Clash over Water with Real Estate Consortium in El Salvador

Alex Leiva woke up at 4:00 a.m. to perform a key task for his family’s survival in the Salvadoran village where he lives: filling several barrels with the water that falls from the tap only at that early hour every other day.

The UN Security Council is in Desperate Need of Comprehensive Reforms

Any fair analysis of the United Nations strongly suggests that the UN of today is not the same UN that was established in 1945. The United Nations Security Council in particular, which was intended to maintain international peace and security, has sadly outlived its usefulness in its current makeup.

Has the UN Transformed itself into a Vast Humanitarian Relief Organization?

The United Nations, which has failed to help resolve some of the world’s ongoing and longstanding civil wars and military conflicts—including Palestine, Afghanistan, Yemen, Western Sahara, Myanmar, Syria, and most recently, Ukraine—was rightfully challenged by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his riveting address to the Security Council last April.

UN System, Too Complex & Fragmented, is in Urgent Need of Reform

Few deny the huge role the United Nation plays in global multilateral system especially in the area of poverty eradication, sustainability and climate change. As enabler of the Agenda 2030, the UN system has the ability, stemming from its extraordinary convening powers, to bring around the table global leaders and key stakeholders for the most consequential decisions humanity must take.

Complex Emergencies: In Kenya’s Arid North, Locals Face Impact of Climate Change, Hunger and Poverty

Darkuale Parsanti and his wife Mary Rampe are counting their losses: One by one, they have seen their livestock wiped out. “I had 45 cattle heads and 50 goats, but they all died due to worsening drought. I currently remain with only one cow and five goats,” says Parsanti, supporting himself on a walking stick.

Over Two Decades of Impunity for Environmental and Health Disaster in Peruvian Village

"We are not asking for money, but for our health, for a dignified life," is the cry of the people of Choropampa, which lawyer Milagros Pérez continually hears 22 years after the environmental disaster that occurred in this town in the department of Cajamarca, in Peru´s northern Andes highlands, on the afternoon of Jun. 2, 2000.

World Environment Day: Burden of Environmental Decline Falls Heavily on Poor and Vulnerable

Barnabas Kamau’s home sits on a wetland in Rumuruti Laikipia County in the Rift Valley region - considered Kenya’s breadbasket. He settled in the area 15 years ago, attracted by the wetlands’ fertile grounds as they provide favourable farming and livestock activities conditions.

Climate Change in South East Asia: Where are we and What are we Bound for?

It is increasingly clear that human health and wellbeing are being threatened everywhere because of global warming and environmental damage. Extreme weather events, sea level rise, increasing scarcity of freshwater, drought and high temperatures, combined with loss of biodiversity and other aspects of ecological degradation such as soil erosion and coral bleaching are all features of anthropogenic self-harm and an increasingly inhospitable planet for human society.

Transforming Africa: Just & Equitable Energy Transition

A global transition to lower-carbon energy sources is crucial for our species' survival given the worsening effects of climate change. With many people increasingly advocating for a rapid shift from an energy system dependent on fossil fuels, questions on how to make this transition arise - one that is just and equitable, especially in the developing world.

If Women Don’t Lead, We’ll Lose the Battle Against Climate Crisis

We are in the midst of so many crises across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region: the most unequal, water scarce, least democratic region in the world, with the widest gender gap, multiple armed conflicts raging across it, and fragile states on the brink.

Restore Land to Tackle Multiple Crises

Land is our lifeline on this planet. Yet ‘business as usual’ in how we manage land resources puts our own future on planet Earth in jeopardy, with half of humanity already facing the impacts of land degradation.

Pakistani Artists, Activists Fight for Refugee Status for Arrested Afghan Musicians

The arrest of Afghan musicians in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan has elicited protests from local politicians, artists and rights activists who demand their release and say they should be allowed to stay as refugees.

“Gun Control” at the Pentagon? Don’t Even Think About It

New outcries for gun control have followed the horrible tragedies of mass shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo. “Evil came to that elementary school classroom in Texas, to that grocery store in New York, to far too many places where innocents have died,” President Biden declared over the weekend during a university commencement address.

Xenophobia-hit Zimbabweans Saving Country’s Dead Economy

Two decades ago, Trynos Mahamba left Zimbabwe for the United Kingdom, but back home, he has changed the lives of his relatives. Since the day after he left, Mahamba (53) has been sending money home while Zimbabwe’s economy faltered amidst violent land seizures from commercial white farmers during Zimbabwe’s land reform programme.

Rivers Have no Borders: The Motto of Their Defenders in Peru

"Water is part of our culture, it is intrinsic to the Amazon," said José Manuyama, a member of a river defense committee in his native Requena, a town located in the department of Loreto, the largest in Peru, covering 28 percent of the national territory.

UN “Deeply Troubled” by Impending Cuts on Development Aid by Rich Nations

The four-month-old Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has triggered a hefty increase in military spending among Western nations and a rise in humanitarian and military assistance to the beleaguered country, is now threatening to undermine the flow of Official Development Assistance (ODA) to the world’s poorer nations.

COVID and Discrimination Aggravated Maternal Mortality in Latin America

Brazil had the dubious distinction of champion of maternal mortality in Latin America during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a 77 percent increase in such deaths between 2019 and 2021.

Child Labour Survivor Has a Dream of Freeing Others

Selimatha Dziedzorm Salifu was just seven years old when she went to work for the first time to support her family. Born in the fishing village, Kpando-Torkor, in Ghana, Salifu, was forced to go out and work in the local fishing industry when her father Seidu died, leaving her mother, Mary, with six children to feed, clothe and shelter. The industry is well documented for child slavery and trafficking.