UN launches initiative to help end new HIV infections among children by 2015
08 May 2012
The lead United Nations agency dealing with the global AIDS response today launched a campaign to help bring attention to the goal of ending new HIV infections among children by 2015 and ensure mothers living with HIV remain healthy.
In India, Ban calls for greater investment in women and children’s health
28 April 2012
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today called on India to lead the way in improving health services for women and children, stressing that addressing this issue is a crucial investment in the future of the South Asian nation.
UN food agency warns of looming health threats in Europe and Central Asia
18 April 2012
On the eve of a regional conference set to begin in Azerbaijan, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is warning that obesity and diet-related illnesses could emerge as major challenges for Europe and Central Asia, while hunger will only be a minor problem.
UN marks World Health Day with call for adequate health policies for older citizens
06 April 2012
United Nations top officials today stressed the importance of providing adequate health services to older citizens and called on countries to commit resources to help their aging populations lead a healthy and active life.
New UN partnership seeks to advance HIV/AIDS response across Africa
28 March 2012
The United Nations has teamed up with the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Agency to advance sustainable responses to HIV/AIDS, health and development across the continent.
More intensified push needed to end global epidemic of tuberculosis – Ban
24 March 2012
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon marked this year's World Tuberculosis Day with a call for a greater push to eliminate once and for all the second top infectious killer of adults after HIV/AIDS.
UN-backed effort aims to vaccinate 111 million children against polio in four days
21 March 2012
A United Nations-backed campaign will seek to vaccinate more than 111 million children under the age of five against polio in 20 African countries in just four days.
Annual UN population prize awarded to US advocate and Malaysian NGO
16 March 2012
A reproductive health advocate from the United States and a Malaysian non-governmental organization (NGO) specializing in family planning and sexual health will be this year’s recipients of the annual United Nations Population Award, it was announced today.
UN health agency unveils new data to help countries reduce deaths from tobacco use
15 March 2012
Tobacco use is responsible for five million or 12 per cent of all deaths of adults above the age of 30 globally each year, according to a United Nations report unveiled today, that for the first time provides estimated mortality rates attributable to tobacco for 2004, the year before the international treaty on tobacco came into force.
Asia-Pacific nations seek faster response against HIV at UN gathering
06 February 2012
Although the Asia-Pacific region has witnessed widespread gains in combating the spread of HIV, experts at a United Nations meeting were told today that the epidemic is still outpacing the region’s efforts against new infections.
Nearly 2,000 African communities end female genital mutilation – UN
06 February 2012
A new United Nations report shows that almost 2,000 communities across Africa abandoned female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) last year, prompting calls for a renewed global push to end this harmful practice once and for all.
Boosted global efforts against malaria lead to far fewer deaths – UN
13 December 2011
The expansion of malaria prevention and control measures have resulted in a decline of more than 25 per cent in the number of deaths caused by the disease in the past decade, and a 33 per cent reduction in mortality rates in Africa, the disease’s heartland, according to a United Nations report unveiled today.
UN-backed initiative enlists celebrity help in fight against tuberculosis
05 December 2011
A new initiative to combat tuberculosis (TB), an illness which claims the lives of over one million people each year, has recruited international celebrities in an effort to maintain awareness towards eradicating the disease, the United Nations health agency announced today.
On World AIDS Day, UN officials say end to epidemic is within reach
01 December 2011
As the world heads into the fourth decade of AIDS, it is finally in a position to end the epidemic, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today, leading a chorus of United Nations officials in calling for the political will, investments and determination to reach this goal.
Rising use and trafficking of illicit stimulants threaten security, health in Asia – UN
30 November 2011
The rising manufacture, trafficking and use of methamphetamines in East Asia and Southeast Asia pose a growing threat to public health and security in the region, as transnational organized criminal groups become increasingly involved, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said today.
UN calls for urgent funds to deal with ongoing cholera outbreak in DR Congo
18 November 2011
The United Nations humanitarian arm warned today that $5.5 million is urgently needed from donors to combat an outbreak of cholera that has infected more than 17,000 people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
UNICEF calls for urgent funding for nutrition crisis in DPR Korea
UN News Centre – 02 November 2011
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) today called for funding to assist millions of people in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), particularly children and women, who are at risk of becoming severely malnourished.
Clean water, sanitation and food remain relief priorities in Haiti – UN official
04 October 2011
Access to safe drinking water, sanitation and food are the priority humanitarian needs in Haiti over the next year, the United Nations relief chief said today, stressing that the estimated 600,000 people still in camps after last year’s earthquake continue to depend on aid for survival.
Childhood vaccines to reach 37 more nations thanks to UN-backed initiative
27 September 2011
A United Nations-backed scheme that delivers vital immunizations to those who need them the most announced today that it will provide funding for 37 more developing countries to introduce vaccines against the two leading causes of death among children – diarrhoea and pneumonia.
UN urges rapid response to measles outbreak in Somali refugee camps in Ethiopia
06 August 2011
The United Nations on Saturday voiced alarm at the plight of Somali refugees in the Dollo Ado camps in south-eastern Ethiopia following an outbreak of suspected measles, and called for urgent action to assist an already vulnerable population.