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Trust built on decades of respect for religion has fertilized the seeds of success for two communities, one Muslim the other Christian, which have joined together to build a successful rice growing cooperative in the Philippines.

Over and above the difficulty of actually getting into Gaza, aid teams now face the crushing realization that with a shortage of fuel and dwindling supplies, there is a limit to what they can do to help all those in need, UN aid worker Louise Wateridge told UN News on Friday.

With just six years remaining to reach the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), global progress is alarmingly insufficient, with a mere 17 per cent of the targets currently on track, according to a new UN report released on Friday.

Resources are desperately needed to ramp up aid supplies for Burkina Faso, a landlocked country in West Africa, which is staring at an “unprecedented humanitarian crisis”, according to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The risk of widespread famine in Sudan caused by war there was confirmed on Thursday by leading hunger experts who warned that the country faces “the worst levels of acute food insecurity ever recorded”, with no less than 14 areas at the highest level of risk.

Delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza remains a difficult and frustrating task for UN and partner agencies as the conflict there grinds on amid intense civilian suffering.

UN aid teams and partner organizations remain deeply committed to delivering lifesaving supplies to Gazans in need, despite the increasing dangers of working there, the Organization’s top aid official said on Wednesday.

The International Criminal Court (ICC) handed down a war crimes conviction on Wednesday against an Al Qaida-linked Malian former self-styled police chief who faced a range of charges, from torture to rape.

Over three million deaths per year were attributable to alcohol consumption and drug use, a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) found. Of these deaths, 2.6 million were attributable to alcohol consumption, accounting for nearly five per cent of all deaths, with the highest numbers in the WHO European Region and African Region.

Syria continues in a state of “grave crisis” with civilian suffering on the rise, the UN Security Council heard during a briefing on Tuesday.

Gaza remains on famine alert after food security experts warned on Tuesday that more than one in five households “go entire days without eating”.

Human suffering continues to worsen against a backdrop of conflict and runaway climate change the UN chief said on Tuesday, calling on countries to step up support for those in need and protect the humanitarians who aid them.

A total of 53 countries had best practice policies in place for tackling industrial trans fats in food as of last year, vastly improving the food environment for 3.7 billion people, or 46 per cent of the world’s population, according to a milestone report published by the UN World Health Organization on Monday.

The head of the main UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, issued a stark warning on Monday that it “will crumble” unless funding is found quickly, with an “entire generation” of children at risk of being condemned to “poverty…hatred, resentment and future conflict”. 

Heavy fighting in Sudan hit a new low over the weekend when a maternity hospital in besieged El Fasher city came under attack, killing a pharmacy worker and prompting new calls on Monday from the head of the UN health agency for the violence to stop.

Gaza is “a world of devastation” and still in the grip of war after nearly nine months of conflict, UN humanitarians just back from the enclave reported on Friday, as they described widespread destruction and stories of pregnant mothers forced to request preterm C-sections out of desperation and fear.

There are twice as many internally displaced people today as there were ten years ago - the largest numbers ever recorded, said Special Advisor on Solutions to Internal Displacement Robert Piper, on Friday.  

Deadly monsoon landslides in southern Bangladesh have destroyed over 1,200 shelters and displaced around 2,000 ethnic Rohingya from neighbouring Myanmar who need urgent assistance, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, has said.

The humanitarian needs in Afghanistan are “alarmingly high” and the international community is in “crisis management mode”, the UN Security Council heard on Friday.

Desperate shortages of essentials in Gaza have left the enclave’s most vulnerable individuals struggling to carry on amid stifling heat, heavy fighting, disease spread and a breakdown in law and order, UN humanitarians warned on Thursday.

The overwhelming majority of people around the world want an end to geopolitical differences when it comes to fighting climate change, the results of a landmark public opinion poll conducted by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) has shown.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) fell by two per cent to $1.3 trillion in 2023 amid global economic slowdown and rising geopolitical tensions, according to a report released on Thursday by the UN trade and development body, UNCTAD.

A UN probe into the Israeli military’s bombing of Gaza has pointed to the laws of war being “consistently violated” with regard to the use of hugely powerful bombs and an alleged lack of distinction between combatants and civilians, the Organization’s human rights chief said on Wednesday.

High-level independent human rights investigators reiterated serious concerns on Wednesday about the legality of the Israeli army's conduct in Gaza and pushed back at claims that their inquiry has done too little to highlight the ongoing ordeal of hostages captured by Palestinian militants.

UN aid coordination office (OCHA) said on Wednesday that Gazans continue to be displaced due to active fighting and bombardment.

The World Food Programme (WFP) will increase its food and nutrition assistance programme this month in West and Central Africa in hopes of reaching 7.3 million people as the June-August lean season is under way at a time when hunger levels are high and food resources are low.

A conference focused on small arms and light weapons is taking place at a “difficult and dangerous moment for humanity,” according to the UN Chief António Guterres. 

The State of Global Air (SoGA) report published in partnership with the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warns on Wednesday that air pollution is increasingly impacting human health - and is now the second leading global risk factor for premature death.

As the war drags on in Gaza, UN human rights chief Volker Türk on Tuesday condemned Israel’s “relentless” attacks across the war-shattered enclave, while repeating longstanding calls for the release of all remaining hostages.

Sustainable sources of energy, including solar and wind power, can help communities across the world to reverse desertification and land loss, according to Ibrahim Thiaw, the Executive Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification.