May Teacher Voices Echo Around the Globe

We must build a new social contract for education – a contract based on equality, equity, and universal human rights. At the center of our global efforts to ensure education for all, we must put teachers first in everything we do. They are frontlines heroes who deliver every day to educate children, cultivate young talent, and build a strong society. They are the substitute parents, the mentors and the ones who contribute to shaping the identify of a child in war, in refuge or in climate change.

Education Cannot Wait Interviews UNICEF Representative in Egypt Jeremy Hopkins

 
Jeremy Hopkins is half Kenyan and half British and graduated with a MA in Arabic and Social Anthropology (Edinburgh) and a MSc in Development Studies (SOAS – University of London). He started his career with WFP in Somalia and then moved to UNICEF also in Somalia as a Child Protection specialist but with an overview on Youth, HIV and C4D portfolios. He worked again as a child protection specialist in Mozambique after which he was a Deputy Representative in Central African Republic, Yemen and Somalia (again!). He has been acting Representative in South Sudan for a short while, Representative in Burundi and is currently Representative in Egypt. Outside the professional realm Jeremy enjoys music, travelling, surfing and photography.

The Approaching Rainy Season Signals Trouble for Gaza

As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to grow more dire as a result of the Israel-Hamas war, concerns of diminishing public health are growing due to prolonged flooding. Repeated airstrikes and forced evacuations in recent weeks have pushed many displaced citizens to flooding hotspots. An influx of torrential rain has greatly exacerbated the failing sanitation system, increasing the risk of contracting waterborne diseases. Health experts fear that conditions will continue to worsen in the coming winter months.

TikTok and WHO Join Efforts to Combat Misinformation

Today’s digital age is centered around TikTok, the short-form social media platform that hosts around 1 billion global users. Sensationalized or reductive videos often get the most engagement with young audiences, leading to the spread of misinformation on a global level.

The Crucial Connection Between Climate Change and Mental Health

“Young people today are growing up with enormous uncertainty about their future. Climate change is a major driver of that uncertainty, but we weren’t talking enough about how the climate crisis impacts mental health,” researcher Dr. Emma Lawrance told IPS from her family home in Australia.

Sustainable Peace in Afghanistan Needs Women on the Frontlines

Women in Afghanistan have continued to advocate for their rights and have called on the international community to not only stand in solidarity but to take decisive action to prevent the erosion of their rights and presence in public space.

Violence, Displacement, and Hunger Plagues Somalia

Somalia is currently in the midst of a dire humanitarian crisis that threatens to destabilize the nation’s security. This crisis is a result of the Somali Civil War, which began in 1991. Altercations between clan-based operations have caused a host of issues over the years, including over 596 civilian casualties, according to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM). Tensions have greatly intensified in 2024, with levels of internal displacement and food insecurity increasing rapidly.

Cultivating a Culture of Peace

The longing for peace transcends time, geography and religion. Based on justice, human rights and universal values outlined in the UN Charter, a culture of peace brings us all together in our common agenda for humanity. We can only co-exist by aligning ourselves with such a world order.

Gang Violence and Mass Displacement Ravage Haiti

Amid the ongoing civil unrest in Haiti due to gang violence, levels of internal displacement have soared. Mass internal displacements in Haiti have led to a host of adverse consequences. This includes a disruption of schooling, increased levels of violence and exploitation, and limited access to essential services such as healthcare.

Typhoon Yagi Devastates Southeast Asia

In early September, Typhoon Yagi, a deadly tropical cyclone, hit Southeast Asia and Southern China, causing widespread destruction. According to the United Nations (UN), wind speeds, reaching 213 kilometers per hour, as well as heavy flooding and severe landslides, have devastated affected areas. Yagi is the strongest natural disaster to hit the South China Sea in three decades, leaving over 500 people killed, 38 missing, and 1,900 injured.

Amid Great Challenges, Hope Reigns As More Children Reached with Education Support

Amid unprecedented global challenges and a growing list of countries in crisis, there is an existential threat to decades of development gains—with the global community marked by intensified armed conflict, forced displacements, and the debilitating effects of climate crises.

ECW Delivers Holistic Education Against All Odds, But More Funding Needed

Education Cannot Wait (ECW) has delivered quality education to children in crisis "against all odds," ECW Executive Director Yasmine Sherif said at the United Nations today. "And you can imagine the odds. We are seeing more armed conflict, a growth of climate-induced disasters and the biggest refugee movement since World War 2." 

Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza Worsens While Polio Vaccine Campaign Succeeds

Today, the chief of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, confirmed that the first round of Gaza’s polio vaccination campaign had ended successfully, reaching 90 percent coverage. The second round of this campaign is set to begin by the end of September, delivering Gaza’s children with a critical second dose of the polio vaccine.

We Stand with the Girls and Women of Afghanistan

Today, we stand with solemn hearts as the world marks this week the three-year ban on girls’ secondary education in Afghanistan. Today and every day, we must stand up for the millions of Afghan girls and women living under the yoke of gender-apartheid: systematized and institutionalized oppression, exclusion, and marginalization based exclusively on their gender. However, standing in solemnity for their suffering is not enough. We must act to remove the oppression and injustice. Against all odds, we must continue to deliver results to provide the girls access to an education well beyond grade sixth.

Odious Debts: What Can Bangladesh Learn from Ecuador?

Bangladesh’s White Paper committee will review foreign loan deals signed by the fallen kleptocratic regime. We recommend that it identifies and declares the loans or portions of loans that did not benefit the nation as unpayable, because they were siphoned off the country by corrupt politically powerful elites, or worse used to buy deadly weapons and surveillance equipment to oppress people. Such loans are “odious” – they stink and are detestable.

Global Community Urged to Help Deliver Quality, Holistic Education for Ukrainian Children

In a major escalation of a conflict that started in 2014 and which is the largest in Europe since World War II, Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Since then, thousands of Ukrainian civilians—many of them women and children—have lost their lives. Countless others have been displaced from their homes, clinging to what remains of the education system as their communities disintegrate.

25TH Anniversary Message to the UN: Prioritize the Culture of Peace in its Leadership Agenda

This opinion piece is being published exactly on the date when twenty-five years ago today the UN took its most forward-looking stride in ensuring a peaceful planet for all of us since the signing of the Charter of the United Nations in 1945.

Africa Taking Targeted Preparedness Measures as Mpox Cases Increase

As the mpox virus continues to spread to new countries across Africa, triggering a continental health emergency, health authorities are sparing no effort in taking targeted measures to control the outbreak—and have called on funders to ensure that resources are distributed fairly.

Children in Gaza Threatened by Polio and School Closures

It has been nearly one year since the commencement of Israeli occupation in the Gaza Strip and living conditions for millions of children continue to grow more dire. The rampant spread of disease among children as well as the stagnant state of Gaza’s schooling system have been greatly aggravated by continued hostilities.

Bangladesh Flash Floods ‘Tragic Reminder’ of Impact of Climate Disasters

Since late August, severe flash floods and monsoons plaguing Bangladesh have affected nearly 6 million people. Bangladeshi officials have declared the floods to be the country’s worst climate disaster in recent memory. These recent floods follow the wake of Cyclone Remal, which devastated Bangladesh and West Bengal earlier this year.

New Bulgarian LGBT+ Law Marginalizes Communities, Rights Groups Warn

A law banning the portrayal of LGBT+ identities in Bulgarian educational institutions is just the latest piece of repressive legislation in a wider assault on minorities and marginalized communities across parts of Europe and Central Asia, rights groups have warned.