UN Insider

Photo: Family farmers are key partners in transforming food and agricultural production into sustainable systems, helping to address challenges like depletion of natural resources. ©VNFU/Vu Le Y Voan

Forest and Farm Producers Help Boost Viet Nam's Economy

By Ronald Joshua

ROME (IDN) – Forestry and agriculture provide livelihoods for nearly 80 percent of the population in the northern regions of Viet Nam. However, nearly half of all households own less than one hectare of land, which often prevents farmers from earning the income they need.

To help smallholder farmers find ways to raise their incomes – while sustainably using forest resources – the Forest and Farm Facility (FFF) partnered with the Viet Nam National Farmers’ Union (VNFU) to support farming families in forming life-changing cooperatives.

: Ronald Joshua; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 22 July 2019

Photo Source: Safe Water Africa. Credit: Salomon Lda (Mozambique)

EU Leaps to Africa’s Rescue with Clean Water

By Jeffrey Moyo

BLANTYRE, Malawi (IDN) – In Karonga, a district in the northern region of Malawi, 32-year old Mavis Banda, a mother of three daughters busies herself drawing safe drinking water from a borehole located at the heart of her village.

Banda and several other villagers claimed they long abandoned a local well where for years they drew water for domestic purposes, thanks to the initiative by the European Union (EU) ensuring developing African countries like Malawi access safe drinking water – as stipulated in Goal 6 of the UN Agenda 2030, which aims to “ensure access to water and sanitation for all”.

: Jeffrey Moyo; THE WORLD; Africa; 21 July 2019

Photo (right to left): ECOSOC President Inga Rhonda King; Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed; Under-Secretary-General of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), Liu Zhenmin. Credit: UN

Community-Based Engagement Critical to Achieving SDGs

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – The eight-day High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development was eclipsed by reports indicating that current efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are being undermined by climate change and escalating inequalities. Yet, the situation is not irredeemable, concluded the Forum and called for an increased critical role for local communities and civil society in getting the world back on track to achieving the SDGs by 2030.

: Santo D. Banerjee; SUSTAINABILITY; Reduced Inequalities; 20 July 2019

Photo: Women at the main fruit, flower and vegetable market in Vanuatu’s capital, Port Villa. ©FAO/Zarfia Amoa

Intensified Efforts to Ensure Food Security and Nutrition in Small Island Developing States

79-Nation ACP and UN's Food and Agriculture Organization Collaborate

By Jaya Ramachandran

NEW YORK (IDN) – Wrapping up the ministerial segment of the High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) on July 19, Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) President Inga Rhonda King said the session had contributed significantly to advancing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. But she urged governments to "reinvent themselves” and be more agile in finding "ways to engage the poorest and most vulnerable in the decisions that impact on their lives”.

: Jaya Ramachandran; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 19 July 2019

Inclusion, Empowerment and Equality the Core of Sustainable Development

By Sean Buchanan

NEW YORK (IDN) – The world’s people are demanding “transformative change that is fair and sustainable,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said July 16, calling on government leaders to use key United Nations meetings in September to “kickstart a decade of delivery and action for people and planet.”

The key meetings are the Climate Action Summit, the Sustainable Development Goals Summit, a High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage, a High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development and a high-level review of commitments to small island developing States and their accelerated modalities of action pathway (SAMOA).

: Phil Harris; SUSTAINABILITY; Gender Equality; 17 July 2019

Photo: Kulangsu, a Historic International Settlement World Heritage site (China). © Cultural Heritage Conservation Center of THAD / Qian Yi

World Heritage Committee Stresses Need to Enhance and Preserve African Heritage

By Krishan Dutta

PARIS (IDN) – The World Heritage Committee has inscribed a total of 29 new sites on the World Heritage List – one in Africa, two in the Arab States, ten in the Asia Pacific region, 15 in Europe and North America and one in Latin America. The List now features 1,121 sites in 167 countries.

The Committee approved the removal from the List of World Heritage in Danger of the sites of Humberstone and Santa Laura Saltpeter Works (Chile) and Birthplace of Jesus: the Church of the Nativity and Pilgrimage Route, Bethlehem (Palestine). One property has been added to the List of World Heritage in Danger: the Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California (Mexico).

: UN Bureau; ARTS & CULTURE; 16 July 2019

New Data Illuminates Inequalities Among the Poor Worldwide

By Caroline Mwanga

NEW YORK (IDN) – A new report released at the UN High-Level Political Forum challenges the traditional concept of poverty and sheds light on the number of people experiencing poverty at regional, national and subnational levels, and reveals inequalities across countries and among the poor themselves.

Findings from the 2019 global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) and the publication "Illuminating Inequalities" – jointly developed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI), and released on July 11, 2019 – offers data for 101 countries, covering 76 percent of the world population.

: UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 15 July 2019

Photo: Children riding a bicycle in Tuvalu. Credit: UNDP | Silke Von Brockhausen

Quarter of Pacific Islanders Living Below ‘Basic Needs Poverty Lines’

By Sean Buchanan

NEW YORK (IDN) – While there has been progress on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) over the past four years, some vulnerable small island developing states (SIDs), such as those in the Pacific, are losing momentum in the run-up to 2030.

In 2015, the United Nations set out a vision for “people, planet, peace and prosperity” through partnership and solidarity, when it adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. To date, however, many SIDs still face persistent challenges linked to poverty, inequality and climate impacts.

: Phil Harris; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 15 July 2019

Photo: United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres addresses the Conference on Disarmament’s High-Level Segment 2019, in Palais des Nations, Geneva on February 25, 2019. Credit: UN Photo by Antoine Tardy.

New Report Warns of Resurfacing Nuclear Risks

By Jaya Ramachandran

NEW YORK (IDN) – In the run-up to the 50th anniversary of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) in 2020, arms control experts have warned that "the risk of nuclear use is increasing and … critical nonproliferation and disarmament norms are eroding".

Assessing Progress on Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament in 2016-2019, the Arms Control Association, says: "While there have been some modest gains on safeguards, there has been significant backsliding on the standards related to arms control and risk reduction."

: Jaya Ramachandran; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 13 July 2019

Photo: West Africa has seen impressive economic growth over the past two decades, but the benefits are going just to a tiny few elites at the top. Credit: Oxfam International

West Africa ‘Least Committed’ in Africa to Fighting Inequality

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | NEW YORK (IDN) – “African countries, especially those in West Africa, are simply not doing enough” to “ensure that no one is left behind”, declares a new report, unveiling shocking figures that underline extreme inequality and poverty rampant in the region. West Africa is the African region “least committed to the fight against inequality”, says the report titled ‘The West Africa Inequality Crisis’.

And this in a year that marks the fourth year of the implementation of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim to address global challenges such as poverty, inequality, climate change and environmental degradation – as envisaged in Goal 1, Goal 10 and Goal13.