UN releases proposals for streamlining of mandates
1/8/2025: The UN is guided by more than 40,000 active mandates, serviced by around 400 intergovernmental bodies. The Secretary-General’s UN80 Initiative is tackling the duplication, fragmentation and outdated tasks that stretch resources and undermine delivery.
Source: UN News
Gaza: ‘No one should ever be forced to risk their life to find food’
1/8/2025: As Gaza faces famine-like conditions, more than 100 people have been killed, and hundreds of others injured, along food convoy routes and near Israeli-militarised distribution hubs in the past two days alone. Two hunger indicators now exceed the famine threshold, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Source: UN News
UN report warns of missed SDG targets in Africa
30/7/2025: Africa is making progress on over two-thirds of the Sustainable Development Goals, but the pace remains far too slow to meet the 2030 targets. The continent faces an annual sustainable development financing gap of up to USD 762 billion. Social protection coverage remains alarmingly low, with only 19 percent of vulnerable populations benefiting from any form of safety net.
Source: Inter Press Service
UN renews push for two-State solution for Gaza conflict
30/7/2025: The UN Secretary-General has reiterated that there is no alternative to the two-State solution to achieving lasting peace in the Middle East. The US and Israel did not participate in a UN conference to jumpstart political momentum toward ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Source: UN News
The number of hungry people worldwide is falling, says UN report
28/7/2025: Levels of global hunger are estimated to have dropped slightly each year since 2021, according to the 2025 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report. However, the period covered by the report precedes cuts to foreign aid announced this year by Western donors.
Source: Devex
How can a vast electrification drive benefit East Africa?
28/7/2025: In the African continent, 600 million people, or almost 50% of the population, are without electricity access. From this challenging landscape Mission 300 was launched in 2024, a plan to connect 300 million people to electricity by 2030 at a projected cost of USD 90 billion. Can Africa, and East Africa in particular, avoid repeating past mistakes where aid has sometimes translated into power lines without lighting?
Source: Dialogue Earth
WHO projects up to 40% cut in health aid in 2025
24/7/2025: Health aid is projected to decline by up to 40% in 2025 compared to 2023 levels, from over $25 billion to around $15 billion, according to estimates from the World Health Organization. The decline is due to significant donor funding cuts from some of the world’s biggest donor countries, including the US. This will hit many low-income countries heavily reliant on external aid for their health budgets.
Source: Devex
World’s top court endorses compensation from countries responsible for climate crisis
23/7/2025: Governments of countries that have driven global warming with their planet-heating emissions could be held legally accountable for the damage caused to other nations, after the International Court of Justice ruled that harming the climate is a breach of international law.
Source: Climate Home News
US withdraws from UNESCO
22/7/2025: The US government will withdraw from UNESCO in 2026. The State Department cites UNESCO’s "outsized focus" on the Sustainable Development Goals and its inclusion of Palestine as a member state.
Source: Devex
Why is Israel bombing Syria?
16/7/2025: Israel is backing the two prominent allied minorities in Syria — the Kurds in the northeast and the Druze in the south — in their push for a federal governance model. The transitional government in Damascus is pushing for a centralised state and seeking to reassert full control over the entire Syrian territory.
Source: The Conversation