World population to reach 8 billion this year, as the growth rate slows
15 November 2022 is predicted to be the day that the global population reaches eight billion. The projection is revealed in the UN’s World Population Prospects 2022 report, which also shows that India is on course to surpass China as the world’s most populous country in 2023.
Taliban’s backtracking on girls’ education, ‘deeply damaging’
Following a U-turn over re-opening girls’ secondary schools in Afghanistan on Wednesday, the UN human rights chief shared her “profound frustration and disappointment” that six months after the Taliban seized power, high school girls have yet to return to the classroom.
UN alarm over mounting Ukraine casualties, amid desperate scenes in Mariupol
Ongoing violence in Ukraine has left millions of people “in constant fear” of indiscriminate shelling, the UN warned on Friday, as efforts continued to reach the country’s most vulnerable populations, one month on from the Russian invasion.
First Person: Witnessing the pain of Ukraine refugees wrenched apart
The UN has helped tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees to cross into Poland and other neighbouring countries. Chris Melzer, the spokesperson for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) in Germany, told UN News that he has witnessed many traumatic scenes, of families ripped apart by the crisis.
To attack babies is ‘an act of unconscionable cruelty’: UN top officials urge end to attacks on health care in Ukraine
Since Russia invaded Ukraine, 31 attacks on health care have been documented by the World Health Organization. These incidents have killed and injured civilians, as well as destroyed facilities and ambulances, disrupting access to essential health services.