Week in Review

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Weekly Wrap 9 October 2020 UNICEF/Peter Martell UN World Food Programme wins 2020 Nobel Peace Prize, as hunger mounts The UN World Food Programme (WFP), which provides lifesaving food assistance to millions across the world – often in extremely dangerous and hard-to-access conditions – has been awarded the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize.  Peace and Security Imperial College London/Thomas Angus China joins global effort to ensure COVID vaccine access for all China is among three additional countries to have signed on to a global initiative that aims to ensure fair and equitable access to a COVID-19 vaccine once developed, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Friday.  Health WFP/Isheeta Sumra The World Food Programme: a three-year experiment that became indispensable The need for the World Food Programme, the recipient of the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize, to exist is starker than ever. From conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, to flooding in South Sudan, and the civil war in Yemen, man-made and natural disasters are leaving tens of millions of people unsure if they will have enough food for themselves and their families to survive on. Humanitarian Aid World Bank/Deshan Tennekoon International Day of the Girl: 'Be bold in your demands', urges UN deputy chief  As the COVID-19 pandemic increases gender, economic and racial inequalities, the UN on Friday marked the upcoming International Day of the Girl, with a youth-driven virtual townhall to demand a more just and equitable world for girls. Women UN News/Daniel Johnson Nagorno-Karabakh: UN rights chief calls for urgent ceasefire as hostilities mount Amid escalating hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights appealed on Friday for an urgent ceasefire and for greater protection to be given to those caught up in the violence.  Human Rights UNAMID/Mohamad Almahady Guterres: UN working 'relentlessly' to advance women, peace and security agenda Armed conflict has a disproportionate impact on women and girls – a key reason why women's "full, equal and meaningful participation" in UN peacekeeping is such a priority, the Secretary-General said on Thursday.  Women World Bank/Simone D. McCourtie Pandemic has forever changed online shopping, UN-backed survey reveals The COVID-19 pandemic has forever changed the way consumers shop online, the UN trade and development body, UNCTAD, said on Thursday, announcing results of a survey of some 3,700 consumers across nine countries.  Economic Development © UNICEF/Giacomo Pirozzi Stillbirths: An unnecessary, unspeakable tragedy – UN report A stillborn baby is delivered every 16 seconds, which translates into nearly two million infants over the course of a year that never took their first breath, according to a new UN report published on Thursday.  Health UNICEF UN chief urges greater investment in universal health coverage, starting now The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of strong public health systems and emergency preparedness for communities and economies globally, the UN Secretary-General said on Wednesday, calling for greater investments in universal health coverage.  Health NASA Space sector works to keep societies and economies on track during COVID-19 Decades of developments in the space sector are being utilized during the COVID-19 pandemic, helping countries to keep their citizens safe and economies on track, the head of the UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) said on Wednesday, in a speech to a virtual conference held by the world's richest nations.  Peace and Security UNICEF/UN0159775/Nybo Report reveals linkages between human trafficking and forced marriage Across the world, girls as young as 12 are being forced or tricked into marrying men who exploit them for sex and domestic work, in what the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has called an "under-reported, global form of human trafficking".  Law and Crime Prevention World Bank/Dominic Chavez Guinea: Steer clear of campaign hate speech, top UN officials warn Given the history of intercommunal violence in Guinea, two high-level UN Officials voiced concern on Tuesday over the risk of "incitement to hostility, discrimination or violence" as the country gears up for elections on 18 October. Peace and Security © UNICEF/Pavel Zmey COVID-19 disrupting critical mental health services, WHO warns The global pandemic has disrupted critical mental health services in 93 per cent of the countries it surveyed, underscoring the devastating impact of COVID-19 and highlighting an urgent need to scale up funding, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) has said.  Health © UNHCR/Hélène Caux First Person: 'I'm happy to be able to give back' Luis Jose Faife, a UN refugee agency (UNHCR) worker from Mozambique, survived the devastation of Cyclones Idai and Kenneth, which killed more than 600 people in Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, and displaced some 2.2. million people, in March 2019. Now COVID-19 is posing a new challenge to humanitarian workers, and the people they help. Humanitarian Aid UN Belarus Belarus: 'There is no sustainable development without human rights' - a UN Resident Coordinator blog Belarus has been rocked by mass demonstrations, and violent state crackdowns, since the disputed August presidential election that saw Alexander Lukashenko returned to power. In this blog, Joanna Kazana-Wisniowiecki, the UN Resident Coordinator in Belarus, explains what the unrest means for the Organization. Economic Development TANZBATT 7/Ibrahim Mayambua DR Congo's fragile detente 'could yet unravel', Security Council warned Planning for a drawdown of the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is well underway, but much work still remains to be done to put the country firmly on the path to long-term stability and sustainable development, the Security Council heard today. Peace and Security UN Kyrgyzstan Guterres regrets death in Kyrgyzstan, calls for dialogue to end violence The UN Secretary-General said on Tuesday that he was "closely monitoring" the situation in the Kyrgyz Republic, where protests erupted a day earlier in the aftermath of Sunday's parliamentary elections. Peace and Security UN News UN Special Adviser helps align UN and Africa on sustainable development path Helping to reshape the UN's approach to better serve the continent and merge the UN-led Sustainable Development Goals with Africa's own 2063 Agenda, are top priorities for the newly minted UN Special Adviser on Africa. Economic Development UN Photo/Isaac Billy Starvation used as weapon of war in South Sudan conflict, UN rights body finds Starvation is being intentionally used as a war tactic in South Sudan's brutal conflict, a UN-backed human rights panel said on Tuesday, releasing its latest report on the country.  Human Rights UN Women/Louie Pacardo 70 per cent of COVID cases located in just 10 countries, WHO reports While COVID-19 has affected all countries, the pandemic is "uneven", and it is estimated that 10 per cent of the global population may have been infected with the virus, senior officials with the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday. Health OCHA/Giles Clarke Put peace in Libya first, UN chief urges summit on war-shattered nation  A "rare opportunity" for peace in Libya should be seized by all those involved directly or indirectly in the conflict, António Guterres said on Monday, at a High-Level virtual meeting convened to end the fighting.  Peace and Security Unsplash/Killian Pham Greening of India's railway network on track An ambitious plan to make one of the world's largest and most complex railway networks a net zero carbon emitter by 2030 is moving full steam ahead, although without the steam, thanks, in part, to support from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). Climate Change Coronavirus Portal & News Updates Readers can find information and guidance on the outbreak of the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) from the UN, World Health Organization and UN agencies here. For daily news updates from UN News, click here. unsubscribe from this list | update subscription preferences