UNRWA health programme hard hit in Syria but the UN agency’s work is having an impact
UNRWA – 21 May 2013
Today, during the World Health Organization’s sixty sixth’s Annual World Health Summit, UNRWA released its Health Department 2012 Annual Report. The publication reflects on the operational challenges, the Agency has faced with rolling out an ongoing health reform and managing regular services during times of conflict.
Yemen’s humanitarian crisis could threaten political gains, warns UN relief official
UN News Centre – 16 May 2013
Yemen is facing a worsening humanitarian situation which could destabilize the country’s gains on the political front, a senior United Nations relief official warned today, noting that half of the country’s 24 million people are in need of assistance.
Tetanus eliminated in over 30 countries at high risk – UN and partners
UN News Centre – 15 May 2013
The United Nations and its partners today announced that tetanus – one of the most deadly diseases a mother and her newborn can face – has been eliminated in more than 30 countries with previously had high rates of the illness.
WHO statistics show narrowing health gap between countries with best and worst health status
WHO – 15 May 2013
The world has made dramatic progress in improving health in the poorest countries and narrowing the gaps between countries with the best and worst health status in the past two decades, according to the World Health Statistics 2013.
2.4 billion people will lack improved sanitation in 2015
WHO – 13 May 2013
World will miss MDG target
Facing meningitis outbreak, UN and South Sudan announce vaccination campaign in Upper Nile
UN News Centre – 09 May 2013
The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) and South Sudan today announced they will carry out a vaccination campaign to address a meningitis outbreak in the Upper Nile state that has killed three people.
Ban spotlights key role of private sector in UN effort to boost maternal health
UN News Centre – 07 May 2013
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today highlighted the role that the private sector can play in contributing to improve maternal health services across the world through the United Nations Every Woman Every Child initiative.
UN’s Ban urges accelerated action on health-related MDGs for women, children
UN News Centre – 06 May 2013
The planet’s social and economic inequalities must be addressed if women and children are to “survive and thrive,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged today, calling for accelerated action on achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) ahead of the 2015 deadline.
Hand-washing key to preventing infections in hospitals and clinics - UN agency
UN News Centre – 05 May 2013
Hundreds of millions of infections could be prevented if health-care professionals, patients and their families, wash their hands with alcohol-based rub or soap and water before and after touching patients and their surroundings, the United Nations health agency today said marking Hand Hygiene Day.
Persons with albinism must not be treated as “ghosts”, UN experts stress
UN News Centre – 04 May 2013
A United Nations group of independent experts today drew attention to discrimination against persons with albinism in Tanzania, where they are the victims of ritual attacks and are routinely mistreated.
Pacific nations seek solutions to laws and policies that block access to HIV services
UNAIDS – 02 May 2013
For activist and community leader Kapul Robert* from Papua New Guinea (PNG) accessing HIV services is a constant challenge. “Papua New Guinea has a law that says sodomy is illegal and this law is contributing to the high-levels of stigma existing in society for both men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender people.”
UN AGENCIES IN DPRK URGENTLY REQUIRE US$ 29.4 MILLION TO RESPOND TO CRITICAL AND LIFE-SAVING NEEDS
UN Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) – 29 April 2013
The World Food Programme (WFP), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organisation (WHO), Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) appeal for urgent funding to be able to meet the most critical and life-saving needs of the people of DPRK in the areas of Health and Nutrition up to the end of the year.
Syrian refugees straining health services in region, UN warns in new report
UN News Centre – 26 April 2013
The refugee crisis sparked by the conflict in Syria is increasingly straining health services in surrounding countries, while refugees are finding it harder to access the quality treatment they need, the United Nations refugee agency warns in report released today.
ILO calls for urgent global action to fight occupational diseases
ILO – 26 April 2013
According to a new ILO report, prevention is key to tackling the growing number of work-related diseases, which claim an estimated 2 million lives per year.
UN-backed Global Vaccine Summit aims to boost efforts to eliminate polio and other diseases
UN News Centre – 25 April 2013
Polio eradication efforts are the focus of the United Nations-backed Global Vaccine Summit which also aims to protect millions of children from diseases like measles and tetanus through inoculations.
Nets are key to cutting malaria deaths and illness
UNICEF – 25 April 2013
Malaria still kills 660,000 people every year, most of them African children. Universal coverage of insecticide-treated bed nets is key in making gains against malaria – one of the largest killers of children in the world, says UNICEF on World Malaria day.
UN-backed summit calls on countries to prioritize civil registrations
UN News Centre – 19 April 2013
The United Nations, governments and development agencies at a summit in Thailand today issued a call for global action to ensure countries have the necessary support to register birth, deaths and other important events in people’s lives, stressing that this is essential to develop better health services.
UN-backed summit calls on countries to prioritize civil registrations
UN News Centre – 19 April 2013
The United Nations, governments and development agencies at a summit in Thailand today issued a call for global action to ensure countries have the necessary support to register birth, deaths and other important events in people’s lives, stressing that this is essential to develop better health services.
Anti-doping: 13 new projects supported in the field
UNESCO – 18 April 2013
On Monday 8 April 2013, 13 new project proposals, totaling more than US$270,000, were approved by the Approval Committee for the UNESCO Fund for the Elimination of Doping in Sport during a private meeting that was held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris (France). These 13 projects will bring the total number of national and international projects, supported by the Fund since its establishment in 2008, to 93 initiatives worth more than US$ 1.5 million.