News headlines in 2022, page 57

Plastics used in farming activities are accumulating in agricultural soil worldwide at an alarming rate, a new report by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) published on Monday reveals.

A flagship UN poverty study released on Monday, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, finds that significant poverty reduction is possible, and new ways of calculating the problem can help humanitarians and governments better target aid.

Rising inflation and the Ukraine war have triggered a 19 per cent increase in child poverty across Eastern Europe and Central Asia, according to a study by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), published on Monday, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

The UN’s deputy relief chief Joyce Msuya stressed on Sunday that life-saving humanitarian assistance and protection in Yemen must be ramped up to protect the lives of millions of vulnerable people across the war-ravaged country.

The UN chief on Sunday called for governments worldwide to prioritize healthcare, in a call to make a “sustained political commitment” so their countries can be better prepared against future shocks, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Mozambique, more than 20 per cent of girls aged between 13 and 17 have been married or live with someone as if they were married. Women’s support groups are putting thousands of them on the road to financial independence, making them less vulnerable to gender-based violence.

The UN Secretary-General issued a statement on Saturday expressing grave concern over the escalation of fighting in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, where Government troops and separatist forces have been locked in conflict since November 2020.

From devastating floods in Pakistan, to wildfires in Siberia, the effects of the climate emergency are being felt across the world, and the United Nations is calling for more investment now, to help nations to adapt to an increasingly unstable environment.

PARO, Bhutan, Oct 14 (IPS) - Zam, 57, sits at her kitchen table looking out the window at her orchard of four dozen apple trees. In the past eight years she has sold only two crates (100 kilogrammes) of the fruit because of poor harvests. She turned her attention to vegetables instead but the production was low because of a water shortage.

New York, Oct 14 (IPS) - In this year alone, the global impact of compounding crises demonstrates, more than ever, why food scarcity must be addressed internationally and how there must be a shift in the food and agricultural systems.