UN News Centre

The COVID-19 pandemic is “a long way from over” but there are many reasons to be optimistic and it’s possible the pandemic can be brought under control “within months”, the head of the UN health agency said on Monday. 

Despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, countries in Africa’s Great Lakes region are “on the right track”, with leaders pushing forward on political, security and economic cooperation, UN Special Envoy Huang Xia told the Security Council on Monday.  

Legislation under consideration in the UK regarding armed forces personnel could limit accountability for war crimes if it is passed in its current form, UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Monday.

A “paradigm shift” aligning the private sector with the global goals is needed to address the challenges of the future, including those triggered by COVID-19, the UN chief said on Monday, addressing the Financing for Development (FfD) Forum. 

The United Nations is marking the International Day of Human Space Flight on Monday, celebrating the achievements of astronauts who are “stretching the boundaries” of where civilization can go, beyond the stratosphere. 

The UN Country Team in Myanmar on Monday, reiterated its call for an end to violence against civilians, amid reports of dozens of deaths in the latest crackdown on protests against the military takeover. 

The UN and international partners working to support a lasting peace and democratic election process across Somalia, said on Sunday that they were highly concerned by the current situation there, calling on Somali leaders to “prioritize the national interest” and resolve their political impasse.

Living with HIV in Yemen, a country mired in a seemingly interminable conflict, is particularly challenging, with medical supplies hard to come by, and only around half of all health facilities fully operational.

In some of the poorest parts of the world, where there is no access to a reliable electricity grid, the UN is equipping hundreds of health facilities with solar technologies, allowing them to avoid power outages and save lives.

A good education is often seen as a route out of poverty, but many disadvantaged children are unable to finish school. In Thailand, a project involving the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, is linking academic achievement to cash rewards, providing tangible benefits to marginalized families, and helping kids to stay in school.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused unprecedented public health, economic and social crises, threatening the lives and livelihoods of millions and exacerbating inequalities throughout the world, the World Bank said at the COVID-19: Vaccines for Developing Countries event on Friday. 

The vast majority of COVID-19 vaccines administered have so far gone to wealthy nations, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Friday. 

The UN Secretary-General on Friday welcomed steps announced by the International Monetary and Finance Committee (IMFC) and the World Bank Group Development Committee, to address debt crises and other financial distress to economies arising from the COVID-19 pandemic, “as a sign of hope and renewed multilateralism.”

The UN human rights office, OHCHR, has urged authorities in Sudan to protect citizens “without discrimination” in the wake of the latest resurgence of deadly violence in West Darfur. 

The world is “a long way off” from meeting the goals of the landmark Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the President of the crucial upcoming UN climate conference, COP26, said on Thursday.

The UN and partners are “following with deep concern” new reports of violations against civilians in northern Mozambique, the UN Spokesperson said on Thursday. 

More than 100 countries and economies have now received COVID-19 vaccines through the UN-partnered equitable coronavirus-busting scheme, COVAX.

As the world marks the grim anniversary of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, during which Hutu and others who opposed the massacre were also killed, the United Nations Secretary-General called for concerted efforts to defeat hate-driven movements to prevent history from repeating itself. 

Days of tribal clashes in Sudan’s West Darfur have left scores dead and thousands fleeing their homes, the UN envoy to the country said on Tuesday. 

The benefits of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine are still “largely positive” and outweigh risk of rare but serious blood clots, according to an official with the World Health Organization (WHO), speaking on Tuesday during the agency’s regular press briefing from Geneva.