From aid to investment: Reshaping Africa’s path to growth
21/10/2025: Africa’s long reliance on foreign aid has come at the expense of its own industrial and human capital development. A shift from aid to investment will require stronger institutions, better-prepared projects, and renewed focus on local capacity.
Source: Devex
Corporate agribusiness imperils peasant rights and food sovereignty
21/10/2025: A handful of powerful corporations control vast portions of global agricultural production, a concentration of power that undermines the autonomy of small-scale farmers, exacerbates inequality and endangers the ecological foundations of food systems, a group of UN human rights experts has warned.
Source: Third World Network
How much power does the UN secretary-general have to reform the body?
20/10/2025: The UN Charter grants the secretary-general powers to administer the work of the Secretariat but many of the UN's agencies answer to their own executive boards, donors, and beneficiaries. Decisions to merge or close UN agencies ultimately lie with the member states that fund them.
Source: Devex
Nearly 80% of the world’s poor live in regions most exposed to climate hazards
17/10/2025: Nearly 8 in 10 people living in multidimensional poverty are directly exposed to climate hazards such as extreme heat, flooding, drought, or air pollution, according to a new report by the UN Development Programme and the University of Oxford. The findings reveal that poverty is not just a socio-economic issue but one that is deeply interlinked with planetary pressures. South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa are identified as global hotspots for these compounded hardships.
Source: UN Development Programme
UN unveils sharply reduced 2026 budget
17/10/2025: High arrears of contributions from UN member countries totalling $760 million have forced the Secretary-General to announce further cuts in the budget for 2026.. Staffing levels may be reduced by almost 20%.
Source: UN News
Conflict and climate change displace millions in Sahel region
10/10/2025: Nearly four million people across Africa’s vast semi-arid Sahel region have been uprooted by a volatile mix of conflict, hunger and climate change. The UN Refugee Agency reports that entire communities have been emptied in Burkina Faso, northern Mali and western Niger as violence spreads.
Source: UN News
Nobel Peace Prize winner welcomed by UN Rights Office
10/10/2025: Opposition leader Maria Machado has won the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her work promoting the Venezuelan people’s democratic hopes. The High Commissioner for Human Rights has consistently spoken out in support of her values.
Source: UN News
UNAIDS faces uncertain future amid UN reform
9/10/2025: The UN Secretary-General has recently proposed that UNAIDS should be closed next year. Leadership of the agency and over 1,000 NGOs argue in favour of a two-phased transition plan over five years.
Source: Devex
Can low income countries raise taxes to fund health?
9/10/2025: Cuts in foreign aid by US and European nations are estimated to reduce health funding for low income countries by 40%. Governments are under pressure to make up the funds through taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and sugar. But these levies may not be a financial panacea.
Source: Devex
UN Refugee Agency faces even deeper budget cuts
6/10/2025: The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has revealed that the Agency must contend with a 25% reduction in its budget due to cuts in foreign aid. He warned that any attempt to undermine the principle of asylum enshrined in the 1951 Refugee Convention and its subsequent Protocol would be “a catastrophic error”.
Source: UN Refugee Agency