In 2016 UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, Nordic Office, through the Burkina Faso Country Office, bought a batch of handmade soap made by some of the most vulnerable women in Burkina Faso, namely those accused of being witches. The women are living at the UNFPA supported Delwende Centre in Ouagadougou. The soap was [...]
New York, 13 July 2017 – Bags made from banana stem leftovers in Kenya, school benches manufactured from plastic wastes and other locally sourced materials in Burkina Faso, improving livelihoods of coffee farmers and protecting mountain gorillas in Uganda—these are some highlights of the innovative 15 winners of this year’s SWITCH Africa Green-SEED Awards announced during the [...]
Hasansham, Iraq, 12 July 2017 – During her first visit to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai on Tuesday called for world leaders to invest in education for children in conflict stricken countries. “Education cannot be ignored. Especially for countries that are going through conflict. Education is a basic [...]
11 July 2017 – Together with the UN Environment Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), eleven of the world’s leading banks announced today a commitment to develop analytical tools and indicators to strengthen their assessment and disclosure of climate-related risks and opportunities. Following the publication last month of the final recommendations by the Financial Stability Board’s (FSB) [...]
Switzerland, 11 July 2017 – Today (11/07), IOM, the UN Migration Agency, reported that they helped 98,403 migrants return home voluntarily in 2016. This assistance was provided through the IOM Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) programmes and highlighted in their latest report, Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration 2016 Key Highlights. This represents a 41 [...]
Mosul, Iraq, 10 July 2017 – As the battle for Mosul raged around them last year, Rabah Mahmoud Ali and his family were ejected from their home by armed militants. After Iraqi forces took back control, they returned to find the roof and first floor of their house badly damaged by bombs, their possessions [...]
New York, 10 July 2017 – Senior government representatives are at the United Nations today for the start of the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development to track progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), two years after they were adopted. Opening this year's political forum, Frederick Musiiwa Makamure Shava, the President of Economic and [...]
Hamburg, Germany/New York, 7 July 2017 – Funding shortfalls are threatening education for millions of children caught up in conflicts or disasters, UNICEF said today ahead of the G20 summit in Hamburg. Of the $932 million needed this year for its education programmes in emergency countries, UNICEF has so far received recorded voluntary contributions of [...]
5 July 2017 - [as delivered] Allow me first of all to express my deep gratitude to all the colleagues that have worked hard – in the Secretariat, in the Agencies, Funds and Programmes – to allow for this report to be ready on time. And to the leader of the team – the Deputy [...]
Crans-Montana, Switzerland, 20 June 2017 - I am glad to be here in Crans-Montana to chair the Conference on Cyprus today. And I want to thank His Excellency Mr. Nicos Anastasiades, the Greek Cypriot leader, and His Excellency Mr. Mustafa Akıncı, the Turkish Cypriot leader, as well as the three guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey [...]
