Midwife Selamawit Giday and a crowd of maternal health workers are gathered around a wall at the local clinic in rural Adwa in Ethiopia’s far north. They’re watching arrows dart across anatomical charts projected onto its surface. The images come from a palm-sized, solar-powered smart projector that is helping save lives by teaching local midwives skills and information. Developed by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), this portable “Mobile Learning System” is reaching communities in […]

Ruth Miller grew up in a household where social justice and family ancestry were common topics at the dinner table. Born in Anchorage, Alaska as a member of the Dena’ina Athabascan tribe and the Ashkenazi Jewish faith, she was raised by parents — both indigenous rights lawyers — to understand at an early age how human rights and her heritage intersect with the landscape around her. “Having the opportunity to grow up in my territory

The impossible is becoming possible – especially if you’re Burger King. The fast food giant partnered with plant-based food company Impossible Foods to create a vegan-friendly burger and is trialing it in restaurants in St. Louis, Missouri. I’ve tried something called an Impossible Burger in another restaurant and, if it’s the same thing, it’s delicious! This hungry carnivore is a happy convert. Livestock accounts for roughly 15% of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions – and

On April 29, experts from the United Nations and other organizations released a groundbreaking report – the culmination of more than two-and-a-half years of work – that calls for urgent global action on one of the most pressing and challenging global health threats of our time: antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The report from the Ad hoc Interagency Coordination Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (IACG) outlines recommendations on how to tackle AMR. The work of the group will

The United Nations is facing a cash crunch. At the beginning of 2019, Secretary-General António Guterres wrote to UN member states to warn them about the deteriorating state of the UN’s core peacekeeping and regular budgets. Together, the two budgets fund the UN’s central activities including 100,000 peacekeepers and 40,000 staff across the world. Member states are legally obliged to pay pre-determined contributions to the UN’s regular and peacekeeping budgets, but over recent years, payments

As part of our “Americans in the UN” project to share the stories of Americans who work for the United Nations, we connected with Linda Maguire, who currently serves as the Resident Representative in Panama for the UN Development Programme (UNDP).  In this role, Maguire leads the work of the UN’s main development agency in Panama, which collaborates with national partners to fight poverty, promote good governance, protect the environment, foster resilience to shocks, and

Our natural world is on life support, but if we support and restore nature, it could be one of our biggest solutions to climate change. A new global report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) finds that 1 million species are at risk of extinction — more than ever before in human history. The Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, prepared by 145 leading experts from 50 countries,

Young people are not the only voices speaking out for urgent action on climate change. Across the globe, mothers who are deeply worried about their children’s future are rising up. This Mother’s Day arrives on a wave of growing concern for climate change, including headlining reports from the United Nations that call for drastic, unprecedented action to avoid the worst impacts on people and planet. But mothers are not shying away from the challenge. They

Lise Grande leads the United Nations’ efforts to provide lifesaving aid to more than 21 million people caught in the world’s worst humanitarian crisis in Yemen. Pramila Patten goes to work every day to advocate for an end to sexual violence in conflict. And Nida Yassin, the daughter of a refugee, supports refugees in Jordan – listening to their needs and sharing their stories. These women are heroes – or as we say, (s)heroes. And