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UN appeals for $35 billion to help world’s ‘most vulnerable and fragile’ in 2021
01 December 2020
A record 235 million people will need humanitarian assistance and protection next year, a near- 40 per cent increase on 2020 which is “almost entirely from COVID-19”, the UN’s emergency relief chief said on Tuesday.
In an appeal for $35 billion to meet humanitarian needs next year, Mark Lowcock said that the global health crisis had impacted dramatically people already…
8 months 2 weeks ago
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FROM THE FIELD: Trafficked teenager advocates for women’s rights in Central America
01 December 2020
A 19-year-old woman from Nicaragua in Central America has been telling the United Nations how she was traded as “currency” in a card game, and then trafficked and abused.
Lilith, not her real name, who now has a three-year-old son, was able to flee to neighbouring Costa Rica, where she has dedicated her life to protecting and preventing violence and abuse against young…
8 months 2 weeks ago
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COVID-19 worsening gender-based violence, trafficking risk, for women and girls
30 November 2020
With the COVID-19 pandemic heightening the dangers of gender-based violence and human trafficking, action on these two fronts is needed now more than ever, the head of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said on Monday.
UNODC Executive Director Ghada Waly was speaking during a virtual event to strengthen global commitment at a time when women and girls are locked…
8 months 2 weeks ago
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Growing potatoes in the air: agricultural innovation in Rwanda
30 November 2020
A Rwandan entrepreneur is pioneering the use of innovative farming technology that, he believes, is set to play a major role in feeding the growing population in his country, amid increasing pressure on arable land.
Aeroponic agriculture could be the key to increasing food production sustainably in Rwanda., by © FAO/Teopista Mutesi
No soil, barely any water, a controlled environment: for…
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New COVID-19 infections fall globally for first time since September; WHO chief urges ‘extreme caution’
30 November 2020
Last week saw the first global decline in newly reported cases of COVID-19 since September, the head of the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday, advising that the news, while welcome, must be interpreted with “extreme caution”.
Updating reporters during his regular briefing from Geneva, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus…
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UN human rights office worried by killings in Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua
30 November 2020
Violence is escalating in the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua, where meaningful and inclusive dialogue is urgently needed to address longstanding economic, social and political grievances, the UN human rights office said on Monday.
“We are disturbed by escalating violence over the past weeks and months in the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West…
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UN refugee agency appeals for $147 million to support thousands of Ethiopians fleeing to Sudan
30 November 2020
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi has launched an appeal for $147 million to support as many as 100,000 people fleeing Ethiopia’s Tigray region into neighbouring Sudan, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Monday.
More than 43,000 people have fled across the border to escape fighting in Ethiopia in recent weeks, almost half of them children.…
8 months 2 weeks ago
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UN chief calls for greater inclusion of persons with disabilities
30 November 2020
Achieving a world where all people have equal access to opportunities is a goal worth fighting for, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday in a speech calling for greater inclusion of persons with disabilities in society, including in COVID-19 response and recovery.
The UN chief was addressing countries that are party to the 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with…
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The pandemic is fuelling slavery and sexual exploitation, UN experts warn
30 November 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has played into the hands of slavers and traffickers and requires stronger government measures to prevent exploitation of vulnerable people, more than 50 independent UN human rights experts said in a statement on Monday.
There was a direct link between the pandemic, socio-economic vulnerability and the risk of exploitation, they said. Exploitation could mean…
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FROM THE FIELD: Answering the call for help in Thailand
30 November 2020
Violence against women and girls at home affects millions globally. The problem is particularly pervasive as it occurs in a space women and girls should feel most secure.
According to UN data, one in three women worldwide experience physical or sexual violence mostly at the hands of an intimate partner. In 2019, 243 million women and girls, aged between 19 and 49, were affected by sexual and/or…
