News headlines in 2021, page 81

Based on the core belief that “humanity is deeply interconnected” and “we are one”, the new performance piece, "King Clavé" is adding some musical inspiration to this year’s 20th anniversary of the historic Durban Declaration and Programme of Action (DDPA) against racism around the globe.  

NAIROBI, KENYA, Sep 29 (IPS) - A new dawn has come, and it was through the work of Yohei Sasakawa, the WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Leprosy Elimination and Sasakawa Health Foundation, that those affected by leprosy now had a voice to speak for themselves.

Allegations of reprisals and intimidation were documented against some 240 civil society members, activists and journalists, across 45 countries in the year up to 31 April, simply because they had been cooperating with the United Nations.  

Healthcare provision is deteriorating fast in Afghanistan, the UN health agency warned on Wednesday, with cases of measles and diarrhoea shooting up, and polio becoming a “major risk”.

NEW YORK, Sep 29 (IPS) - Gender-responsive universal health coverage (UHC) has the proven potential to transform the health and lives of billions of people, particularly girls and women, in all their intersecting identities. At tomorrow’s kick-off to the 2023 UN High-Level Meeting (HLM) on UHC, Member States and stakeholders will review progress made on the 2019 HLM’s commitments and set a roadmap to achieve UHC by 2030. We, as the co-convening organizations of the Alliance for Gender Equality and UHC, call on Member States to safeguard gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) as part of UHC implementation, especially in light of the gendered impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

When the extremist militant group ISIL, or Da’esh, collapsed in Iraq and Syria, thousands of foreign nationals were hastily detained in prisons and camps. At least 42,000 foreign women and children, most under the age of 12, currently remain in squalid and overcrowded conditions inside camps in northeast Syria.  

That half-eaten apple tossed in the trash bin after lunch is contributing to the staggering mountain of food wasted globally, at a time when more than 800 million people still go to bed hungry, UN agencies said on Wednesday, marking the International Day to increase awareness of this issue.

Urgent support is needed for tens of thousands of missing migrant families who are often forced to rely on smugglers and other informal networks, to trace loved ones, the International Organization for Migration's (IOM) said on Wednesday.

SAN FRANCISCO, USA, Sep 29 (IPS) - The September 16, 2021 announcement from the World Bank that it had discontinued publication of the Doing Business Report (DBR) marked a major victory for people and planet.

The UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process told the Security Council on Wednesday that he was “encouraged” by the recent engagement of senior Israeli and Palestinian officials.