A snapshot from 5 countries - Cambodia, Comoros, Mexico, Uzbekistan, Yemen - and how they're moving the needle on the five SDGs under review at the UN High-Level Political Forum this week.
Since 2019, five consecutive failed rainy seasons across the Horn of Africa have created a devastating drought that has affected millions of people in the region. Water sources have dried up, crops and livestock have been decimated, and people’s capacities to support themselves have been eroded. Compounding the hardship, food prices have rocketed, partly as a result of the war in Ukraine, making it too expensive for most refugees and local communities to afford even basics.
Time is running out as the world inches closer to meltdown and countries must change course before it is too late, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned the General Assembly, presenting his priorities for the year.
After a massive earthquake hit southern Türkiye and northern Syria in the early hours of Monday, prompting fears of a humanitarian crisis, UN aid agencies have scrambled to help many thousands of reported victims, including those still believed to be buried under the rubble.
Too often, female genital mutilation is seen – even trivialized – as a “women’s issue”. This year, the number of those experiencing female genital mutilation is actually expected to increase as conflict, climate change, rising poverty and inequality hinder efforts to eliminate this harmful practice and the deep discrimination that drives it.
Our UN teams are on the ground in 162 countries and territories, coordinating joint programmes and tackling a range of priorities and initiatives — from climate action and food security to gender equality and safety of civilians.
This year’s UN Climate Conference takes place in Sharm el-Sheikh, against a backdrop of extreme weather events worldwide, an energy crisis propelled by the war in Ukraine, and scientific data reiterating that the world is not doing enough to tackle carbon emissions and protect the future of our planet.
The actions cities take locally to create a sustainable world will reverberate globally, UN Chief António Guterres said on Monday, underlining the need to ramp up progress towards a more just and equitable future for people and the planet.
