(Photo credit: Jiro Ose/UN Foundation) Tens of millions of people around the world have been forced to flee their homes because of conflict, disaster, and other humanitarian emergencies. Food, shelter, water, and medicine are all essential to their lives: So is energy. Quality energy solutions are required for lighting, heating, and safety, particularly for girls and women. Yet often in refugee camps or other emergency settings, reliable, safe, and quality energy is unavailable. Kerosene lamps, […]

March 20 is the International Day of Happiness, and one thing that has become clear over recent decades: Happy people need a happy planet. Right now, the health of our planet is threatened by climate change. According to the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, scientists are now more certain than ever that climate change is real, it’s caused by human activities, and it’s already affecting us. If we’re going to live in a

Last October, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon appointed a High-Level Panel on UN Peace Operations to evaluate the role of UN Peacekeeping and political missions that work to promote peace and security around the globe. This review comes at a time where peace operations have evolved exponentially and peacekeepers are often deployed into conflict regions where there is no peace to keep. This vital review is working to improve and better support the work of

More than five days after Cyclone Pam caused catastrophic damage across Vanuatu, thousands of families remain in shelters and many of the 60 inhabited islands are cut off from aid. Two teams of government, United Nations, and non-governmental organization experts conducted disaster assessment missions to two islands in the southern province of Tafea, finding severe and widespread damage across the bigger islands of Tanna, Erromango, and Efate. The latest UN Situation Report says shelter, water,

On March 22, the United Nations celebrates World Water Day to highlight the importance of water for humanity. Here are five (of many) reasons from UN Water why having access to clean water and being smart about water usage can help bring happiness and shape a better world for all. Families and communities can stay healthy: Water is vital to our health, but despite impressive gains made over the last decade, 748 million lack access

Photo credit: WHO One year ago, the word “Ebola” barely registered with many people around the world. Previous outbreaks of this deadly disease had never spread far enough or fast enough to draw the world’s attention. What a difference a year makes. Since the World Health Organization first reported the outbreak on March 23, 2014, the world has become intimately familiar with the devastation caused in West Africa by an Ebola epidemic of never-before-seen proportions.

Photo: WHO/E. Eraly *Jyoti Mathad, MD, MSc, Instructor in the Division of Infectious Diseases and the Center for Global Health at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York Mrs. Kumar [not her real name] was diagnosed with TB 18 years ago, during her first pregnancy, which ended in miscarriage. She then became depressed and side effects from the TB medications caused her difficulty eating. Three years later, during her second pregnancy, she and her husband

Guest Blog by Elizabeth Stuart, Research Fellow, Overseas Development Institute.(Photo credit: Arne Hoel, World Bank) “Leaving no one behind” has become a buzz phrase in New York, and around the world, as part of the post-2015 negotiating process to develop the next global agenda for 2016-2030. But what does the phrase “leave no one behind” mean, and why does it matter? At an event at the United Nations last week organized by the Dutch, Tanzanian, and

By Jordie Hannum, Executive Director of the Better World Campaign  Congressional budget season is well underway in Washington. Decisions made over the next several days could make all the difference in how the U.S. manages critical matters of international diplomacy, peace, and global health. In other words, our funding for the United Nations – not to mention relationships with all of our allies and investments in peace and global health – is very much on