I recently had the opportunity to speak with Elizabeth Hoff, the World Health Organization (WHO) representative in Syria. WHO leads the health sector response to issues arising from the conflict, which entered its fourth year this month. Though she is no stranger to conflict situations, having previously worked in Somalia and Afghanistan, Hoff says her work in Syria has come with unprecedented challenges. Chelsea Hedquist: What are the most pressing health challenges facing the people […]

Today leading science experts released the latest United Nations report on the impacts of climate change around the world. As the Associated Press reported: “The big risks and overall effects of global warming are far more immediate and local than scientists once thought. It’s not just about melting ice, threatened animals and plants. It’s about the human problems of hunger, disease, drought, flooding, refugees and war, becoming worse. “We can meet the climate challenge, but

“You see the sense of hope despite the hunger and the horrors,” said James Elder, who has been on the ground in South Sudan as part of the humanitarian response effort of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Since conflict erupted in December, more than 1 million people have fled their homes, including more than 380,000 children. The challenges in the world’s newest nation are daunting: Severe malnutrition; measles outbreaks; the looting and destruction of

Spring in Washington means more than our iconic Cherry Blossoms and tourists on the Metro. It’s also the beginning of budget season for lawmakers, and that means big decisions about our international affairs priorities. If you haven’t been following the Better World Campaign’s calls to action, here’s what you need to know: The U.S. is in the red at the United Nations, with this year’s budget underfunding peacekeeping by 12 percent. Frankly, the situation is

Our photo of the week: A young boy smiles in South Sudan as he holds food provided by the World Food Programme (WFP). This week, WFP Executive Director Ertharin Cousin and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antόnio Guterres visited South Sudan to meet people affected by the conflict in the world’s newest nation and to review the response and needs of the growing humanitarian crisis. Since conflict broke out in mid-December, more than 1

Today, in honor of World Health Day, we are partnering with the Pan-American Health Organization to raise awareness about the serious and increasing threat of vector-borne diseases. Did you know that more than half the world’s population is at risk from diseases such as malaria, dengue, leishmaniasis, Lyme disease, schistosomiasis, and yellow fever, which are carried by mosquitoes, flies, ticks, water snails and other vectors? According to the World Health Organization, every year, more than

Today marks the 20th anniversary to the beginning of the Rwandan Genocide. More than 800,000 people were killed and millions more were displaced during the devastating 100 days of violence. As a result, lives were changed forever, the government and many institutions collapsed, and much of the country had to be restarted from scratch. In the 20 years since the end of the genocide, Rwanda has made significant progress in many areas. Here are 5

What does success for the United Nations look like in Afghanistan? The White House put it best during a press briefing last week forecasting Saturday’s primary elections: “This election process is Afghan-owned… The Afghan security forces are in the lead country-wide. The leaders and staff of the electoral institutions are all Afghan. And the campaign period over the past two months was full of open and responsible debate among the candidates. But it will be

I’d like to invite you to explore a new resource, climatevoices.org, which is bringing together U.S. scientists and their fellow citizens for non-political conversations about climate science and the impacts of climate change. When it comes to progress with climate research, I’ve been terribly fortunate to have something of a front row seat. For more than 20 years now, I’ve worked with some of the world’s most distinguished scientists from the National Center for Atmospheric