The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) says that by 2050, "around 70 per cent of the world's population will live in cities, with the biggest increases in urbanization taking place in Africa and Asia." UNEP/UN-HABITAT
John Ging, Operations Director of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, briefs journalist on his recent visit to Mali. UNTV
UNICEF says it urgently needs US$ 45 million to help children in conflict-strickenMali, where political instability has severely aggravated an already fragile situation for women and children. CH UNTV
After decades of war in Somalia, thousands of people left the port city of Kismayo and are living in camps. The militants have now fled the city and there is relative calm, still those displaced to Mogadishu say they will not go back. UNHCR
Displaced people lack stability. Having a home, however, changes all that. In Somalia, a UNHCR-supported project has built 250 permanent houses for displaced families on land donated by the host community in an effort to promote unity. UNHCR
Just over half the world’s population, including more than a billion children, now live in cities and towns, more people than any other time in human history. Traditionally, people move to cities to improve their lives, but a new UNICEF report shows that urban life also hides great disparities between the rich and the poor. [...]
In the dozens of informal refugee settlements around Kabul, Afghanistan, at least 24 children recently died after exposure during the harshest winter in 15 years. UNHCR Communications Officer Babar Baloch stresses that “for them, day-to-day living is a challenge and once it is winter and harsh cold, it is not easy for them to survive.” [...]
UN Independent Expert on the human rights situation in Haiti Michel Forst is on an eight-day visit to the country to evaluate the human rights situation since his mission last September and to follow up on recommendations made to the Human Rights Council. MINUSTAH
UNHCR and the government of South Sudan are running a transitional shelter program for returnees. In the last fourteen months, more than 360,000 men, women and children have come home from the north. UNHCR
At a secret location in the capital city of Sarajevo, Bosnia’s capital, the Green Line Safe House is the last place of refuge for women escaping domestic violence. UNFPA