UN – United Nations

I could never have imagined as a child growing up in rural India that the meals my grandparents cooked for me would eventually lead me to a career at the United Nations Foundation. As a young girl, I lived with my grandparents in Edathua, a small village in Kerala, India. They cooked on a traditional wood-burning cookstove that produced thick plumes of indoor smoke. As a toddler, I often suffered from upper respiratory infections, likely […]

Earlier this year, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced an important milestone: for the first time in UN history, a peacekeeping mission is led by all women. That mission is the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Cyprus (UNFICYP), led by Elizabeth Spehar, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General; Major General Cheryl Pearce, the Force Commander; and Ann-Kristen Kvilekval, Senior Police Adviser. Our @UNPeacekeeping Mission in Cyprus is our first to have three women in charge of

Laith Yousif wouldn’t call himself a romantic. His wife Dina wouldn’t either. The Brooklyn couple never expected to get married or have kids. “When we first started dating, I told Dina that I not only didn’t want kids, but I didn’t really like them very much,” Laith recalls with a grin: “But it turns out I was wrong.” Theirs is an unlikely love story. Laith was born and raised in Iraq. Dina moved from Italy

Children and families in Syria need our help. According to UNICEF, more than 30 children have been killed in the past few months because of violence, extreme winter conditions, and displacement. DONATE HERE TO SUPPORT THE UN HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE FUND FOR SYRIA As the conflict in Syria approaches its ninth year, freezing temperatures are making conditions worse for millions of people displaced within Syria’s borders and in surrounding countries. In total, over 13 million people

16-year-old Eva Jones didn’t consider herself an “advocate.” But this high school student and self-proclaimed “huge nerd,” from Hood River, Oregon, is by all accounts a rockstar advocate for gender equality and education. After founding a Girl Up Club at her school in 2017, Eva and her club have gone on to raise over $13,000 to support girls’ education in Malawi and Guatemala, worked with hundreds of girls to turn a refugee education bill into

Dr. Peter Hotez brings a unique perspective to his work. As a world-renowned vaccine scientist, he has spent his career studying “neglected tropical diseases” like malaria, West Nile Virus, and Zika in the planet’s most inaccessible and impoverished places. He and a colleague coined the term. Over the past three decades, he has developed lifesaving treatments for some of the deadliest illnesses — and witnessed the tragic consequences when vaccines are not available. He’s also

Peace seems to be a missing piece of many SDG conversations, but the lack of peace is showing up in many recent – and alarming – global reports. According to a new report from UN’s World Food Program (WFP) and Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO), conflict is driving unprecedented levels of hunger: 56 million people are in need of food aid in eight conflict zones. Another report from UNICEF estimates that an unacceptable amount of

They defend the vulnerable and fight for human rights. They command forces and build coalitions for peace. And they take on the world’s toughest challenges. Women now make up half of the senior leadership team of the United Nations. Throughout the organization, from field operations to headquarters, women are leading the way in solving problems and creating change. They are our heroes. Or, as we say, (s)heroes. UN Secretary-General António Guterres has made gender equity

The ambitious transformation of the World Health Organization (WHO) took a huge step forward on March 6. Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced major organizational changes aimed at aligning processes and structures to reach WHO’s “triple billion” targets by 2023: Ensuring that 1 billion more people benefit from universal health coverage; 1 billion more people have better protection from health emergencies; and 1 billion more people enjoy better health and well-being. When Dr. Tedros first