Latest news on the Asia-Pacific region from the United Nations
- World TB Day is marked on 24 March, and this year, the World Health Organization (WHO) has called for urgent investment in the fight against tuberculosis, “to save millions more lives”.
- Amid growing donor fatigue and a brutal war in Ukraine that has diverted the world’s attention, the world must not forget millions of people in need across the Middle East and North Africa, the UN chief told the Security Council on Wednesday.
- Women across the world face unacceptable mistreatment during childbirth, according to a new study from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Human Reproduction Programme (HRP) launched on Wednesday.
- In Kenya, a trailblazing sustainable agriculture project has helped hundreds of farmers move away from the harmful practice of growing tobacco, in favour of a healthier alternative, the UN said on Wednesday.
- Following a U-turn over re-opening girls’ secondary schools in Afghanistan on Wednesday, the UN human rights chief shared her “profound frustration and disappointment” that six months after the Taliban seized power, high school girls have yet to return to the classroom.
- Following a U-turn over re-opening girls’ secondary schools in Afghanistan on Wednesday, the UN human rights chief shared her “profound frustration and disappointment” that six months after the Taliban seized power, high school girls have yet to return to the classroom.
- Jarno Habicht has worked with WHO for the last 19 years and served as WHO Representative in Ukraine since 2018. He explains how WHO prepared for armed conflict in the country, and how it has responded to health-related issues since the Russian invasion.
- Speakers in the Security Council on Tuesday denounced evictions and demolitions by Israeli authorities of Palestinian-owned properties, as the Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, expressed regret that “little progress” has made by the sides in upholding obligations under the Council’s landmark resolution 2334.
- While humanitarian assistance has been successful in averting a catastrophe, Haiti is experiencing a persistent rise in hunger levels, with many citizens suffering acutely, the World Food Programme (WFP) said on Tuesday.
- One year after brutal attacks by suspected Al Shabab militants began in northern Mozambique, thousands continue to flee ongoing violence in Cabo Delgado province, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Tuesday.
- It’s time for a diplomatic solution to be found to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, amidst signs of hope that progress can be made to end an “unwinnable” and “indefensible” war, said the UN chief on Tuesday.
- The UN has helped tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees to cross into Poland and other neighbouring countries. Chris Melzer, spokesperson for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Germany, told UN News that he has witnessed many traumatic scenes, of families ripped apart by the crisis.
- The UN’s top rights official said on Monday that amidst a “profound crisis” facing access to basic human rights in Myanmar following the coup in February last year, hundreds of localized armed resistance groups have now formed across the country, triggering “widespread violence in areas that were previously stable”.