With the news on Tuesday that a record 383 aid workers were confirmed killed in the line of duty last year, one veteran UN aid worker based in Gaza reaffirmed the resolve of humanitarians everywhere to save lives and relieve suffering, no matter how challenging the situation.

Before Pedro Matos joined the World Food Programme (WFP) for 17 years, he said his job in space engineering just “wasn’t enough”.

UNITED NATIONS, August 19 (IPS) - Myanmar’s security situation has deteriorated significantly, with the nation still reeling from the devastating earthquake in March last year, and continued military offensives driven by the ongoing civil war. In 2025, the humanitarian crisis reached a critical turning point, with the United Nations (UN) underscoring a litany of severe human rights abuses inflicted on civilians by the military and armed groups.

GENEVA, August 19 (IPS) - On this World Humanitarian Day, the members of CCISUA Staff Federation honour colleagues who dedicate their lives to protecting people in crisis, and we remember with sorrow the many who have fallen in the line of duty.

UNITED NATIONS, August 18 (IPS) - In the Arab region, a thought-to-be oil oasis, green jobs constitute 29 percent of energy sector roles, and 23 percent of the oil and gas sector. These numbers signify a push towards sustainable business and practices, with the Arab region striving to get away from oil, in their advancement towards the completion of the SDGs on time for 2030.

UNITED NATIONS, August 18 (IPS) - The UN Security Council convened today (August 18) to discuss South Sudan and the “interlinked challenges of climate change and conflict” affecting the region.

ROME, August 18 (IPS) - The global food system is under pressure from every direction – climate, conflict, inequality, and economic instability. But in Addis Ababa this July, something shifted. At the UN Food Systems Summit +4 Stocktake (UNFSS+4), over 3,500 people from 150 countries came together to confront the lack of progress and push forward solutions that can no longer wait.

KAMPALA, August 18 (IPS) - Sarah Namukisa nearly missed her final year exams earlier this year. She was subjected to a mandatory pregnancy test—the 25-year-old student at the Medical Laboratory Training School in Jinja was then expelled because she was pregnant.

UNITED NATIONS, August 18 (IPS) - When the 193-member General Assembly commemorates the UN’s 80th anniversary during a high-level meeting in mid-September, how many political leaders and delegates will be barred from entering the United States –despite the 1947 US-UN Host Country Agreement?

NEW YORK, August 18 (IPS) - Negotiators in Geneva adjourned what was expected to be the final round of plastics treaty negotiations on Friday without reaching an agreement, a failure that environmentalists blamed on the Trump-led United States, Saudi Arabia, and other powerful nations that opposed any effort to curb plastic production—the primary driver of a worsening global pollution crisis.