In his State of the Union message on Tuesday night, President Obama emphasized that “no challenge – no challenge – poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change.” He reiterated the key facts: “2014 was the planet’s warmest year on record. … 14 of the 15 warmest years on record have all fallen in the first 15 years of this century.” And he warned of “rising oceans, longer, hotter heat waves, dangerous droughts […]

Photo credit: UN Environment Programme As President Obama travels to India for Republic Day on January 26, speculation is increasing that a new bilateral agreement related to climate change may be announced. Extensive groundwork has been under way since 2011 to support Indian engagement as a constructive partner as the international community hammers out a new agreement for the decisive Paris climate talks coming up in December. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry underscored the

Next week in Berlin, Gavi the Vaccine Alliance will be hosting its second replenishment conference; a key moment to keep the momentum and gains made in 2014 and continue progress as we enter the last year of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). At its replenishment, GAVI will announce that 500 million children have been reached through Gavi-supported routine immunisation since 2000, resulting in 7 million lives saved. Further support can help to solidify even bigger

“Don’t be fooled, it’s not over yet.” – Peter Piot, a co-discoverer of the Ebola virus and director of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine warns of the need to continue the fight against Ebola to the end. Ebola fight needs $1 billion more to get to zero casesThe United Nations needs to raise a further $1 billion for the fight against West Africa’s Ebola epidemic after raising that same amount last year, according to the UN’s

We are less than 24 hours away from the pledging conference in Berlin that we hope will set the course for Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance, to save the lives of 5 million to 6 million children in the coming years. Over the weekend, the United States announced that it will commit $1 billion through 2018, a tremendous boost that brings Gavi closer to its goal. Including pledges already made by the European Union, Norway, Canada,

The global effort to reach every child with life-saving vaccines received a tremendous boost this week, as donors committed more than $7.5 billion to Gavi, The Vaccine Alliance. These commitments will help Gavi immunize an additional 300 million children in the coming years and save an estimated 6 million lives, working closely with key United Nations partners such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The $7.5 billion pledged comes

A mother waits at the health clinic for her child to receive routine immunization care in Hua Ngai Commune of Dien Bien, a northern mountainous province of Viet Nam. One of the biggest challenges the country faces is providing health services in hard-to-reach mountainous regions. Child mortality is two times higher in rural areas, like Hua Ngai, than urban areas. Dien Bien has made a lot of progress toward the Millennium Development Goals, which set

Photo credit: UNICEF/Tom Pietrasik With a measles outbreak making headlines in the United States, we thought it would be a good time to repost the piece we shared last year on six reasons why you should care about eliminating measles around the world, a key priority for the United Nations and the UN Foundation. We’ve also updated the post with the latest data from the World Health Organization (WHO). About 400 people, mostly children, die

Photo: Rollins College  This February, the United States celebrates the annual African American History month – a month to honor African American leaders and activists who have driven social progress and advanced justice. The United Nations Foundation is fortunate to receive advice and guidance from a giant in the movement for a more just and equal America and world: board member Andrew Young. Young was a top aide to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during