Top UN Envoy hails two-month renewal of Yemen truce
2/6/2022: A truce between the Government in Yemen and Houthi rebels has been renewed for an additional two months, the UN Special Envoy for the country has announced. Over the past two months civilian casualties have dropped significantly and the parties have been meeting under UN auspices to discuss nationwide military de-escalation.
Source: UN News
Investors cash in on food commodities as the poor go hungry
2/6/2022: A significant increase in speculative investment in food commodity contracts could see prices decoupling from the fundamentals of supply and demand. Experts have called for measures to protect food systems against speculation. According to the World Bank, every one percentage point increase in food prices pushes 10 million more people into extreme poverty.
Source: DW
Food crisis underscores urgency of system-wide transformation
1/6/2022: International conflicts have been the primary cause of famine during the last half-century. Prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the World Food Programme reported that 45 million people were on the brink of famine. The global community has a moral imperative to ensure that its response to the current crisis promotes a more resilient food system.
Source: Devex
Pandemic undermines 2030 goal of universal energy access
1/6/2022: According to the UN's 2022 Energy Progress Report, 670 million people will remain without electricity in 2030. The goal of universal access by that date has been impeded by recent crises in health and agriculture. Africa remains the least electrified region in the world.
Source: UN News
Davos 2022 was a missed opportunity over globalisation
1/6/2022: The world's poorest countries are bearing the brunt of globalisation’s failures - food and energy price inflation, and an intellectual property regime that left billions without Covid-19 vaccines. The recent meeting of the World Economic Forum, the traditional champion of globalisation, failed to engage in soul-searching about how and why things have gone so wrong.
Source: The Guardian
Satellite data brings new insights on Amazon forest loss
30/5/2022: Satellite data can now tell the difference between forest fires and other forms of forest loss. Nevertheless, 2021 was the fourth consecutive year of rising deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.
Source: Mongabay
A global food crisis: shortage amidst plenty
30/5/2022: As India and other countries suspend wheat exports, old policy disagreements from the 2007-2008 food crisis may resurface. Is there a real shortage of food or is the global price increase caused by financial speculators and excessive US subsidies for the use of crops in ethanol production?
Source: Inter Press Service
UN mission in China fails to address crimes against humanity
28/5/2022: Amnesty International remains unconvinced that two days spent by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region will result in acknowledgement of the scale and gravity of human rights violations being committed by the Chinese government.
Source: Amnesty International
UN troubled by impending cuts on development aid
30/5/2022: UN agencies are increasingly concerned that military support for Ukraine provided by the US and EU totalling $60 billion will lead to cuts in overseas development assistance. Poorer countries face rising debt difficulties, initially from the COVID-19 pandemic, and now the global grain supply crisis.
Source: Inter Press Service
World Health Organization improves financial independence
24/5/2022: Member states of the World Health Organization have agreed to a gradual increase of membership subscriptions from 16% to 50% of the core budget. This will reduce the WHO’s over-reliance on voluntary contributions, often earmarked for specific areas of work.
Source: World Health Organization