United Nations Radio

David Thompson

The world is mired in the deepest financial and economic crisis since the 1930's. That's what Barbados' Prime minister David Thompson told the first of a series of interactive roundtables on the theme "the role of the United Nations and its member States in the ongoing international discussions on reforming and strengthening the international financial and economic system and architecture." The Barbados Prime minister said it was truly a global crisis affecting all regions, countries, sectors and segments of populations across the globe.

St.Vincent and the Grenadines recalls that over the years a number of funds and programmes were established to enhance the capacity of the United Nations

Ralph Gonsalves

Prime minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves of St. Vincent and the Grenadines said the development function of the United Nations fell mainly to its Economic and Social Council. Over the years, he added, a number of funds, programmes and agencies were established through intergovernmental agreements to enhance its capacity, thus fulfilling the United Nations mandate to solve "international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character" and become a "centre for harmonizing action of nations."

Special report on risks miners face in Guyana's gold mining industry

gold mining site

Gold! At 1,064 degrees centigrade, it's a liquid poured and formed into bars of precious metal.
Under this intense heat, the molten gold separates from the denser impurities, leaving an ingot of pure, solid gold. At current prices, this ingot goes for 350 thousand US dollars. In the sizzling and sweltering heat of the rainforest, men in the Caribbean country of Guyana gamble everything searching for bits of gold. They're looking to share in the more than 200 million US dollars that Guyana took in as revenue from gold last year. Despite its value, this kind of work is bringing huge risks to miners and the environment.

Farmers in Haiti boost food production with the help of the UN

farmer with harvested bananas

A United Nations scheme to combat high food prices in Haiti has yielded fruit by significantly boosting production, making food available at lower cost and increasing farmers' incomes. The 10.2 million -US-dollar plan to distribute and multiply quality seeds is being carried out at the Haitian Government's request, by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization-FAO with financing fro the International Fund for Agriculture Development -IFAD. UN Radio's Dianne Penn reports.

Producer: Donn Bobb
Duration: 14'20