July 15, 2019 No comments
Baby foods high in sugar, inappropriately marketed in Europe, reveal two UN studies
INTERNATIONAL, 15 July 2019, Health - Proper nutrition for newborn babies into early childhood is key to development and good health in later life, according to the Regional Director of the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) in Europe, as she launched two new studies on Monday. The studies from WHO Europe show that a high proportion of baby foods are incorrectly marketed as suitable for infants under the age of six months, when in fact much of it contains inappropriately high levels of sugar. WHO’s long-standing recommendation spells out that children should be breastfed, exclusively, for the first six months. Moreover, its 2016 global Guidance on Ending the Inappropriate Promotion of Foods for Infants and Young Children explicitly states that commercial complementary foods should not be...
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July 15, 2019 No comments
UN highlights importance of skills development on World Youth Skills Day
INTERNATIONAL, 15 July 2019, Culture and Education - At UN Headquarters, and across the globe, events are taking place on Monday to celebrate World Youth Skills Day – marked each year on 15 July – to raise awareness about the importance of youth skills development. The Day is important because rising youth unemployment is seen as one of the most significant problems facing economies and societies in today’s world, for developed and developing countries alike. Some 73 million young people are currently unemployed, with 40 million joining the labour market each year. To tackle the problem, at least 475 million new jobs need to be created over the next decade. Skills for all However, data suggests that many graduates are ill-prepared for the world of work,...
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July 15, 2019 No comments
‘Complacency’ a factor in stagnating global vaccination rates, warn UN health chiefs
INTERNATIONAL, 15 July 2019, Health - More than one in 10 children – almost 20 million worldwide – failed to receive potentially lifesaving vaccines in 2018, the UN said on Monday, citing obstacles including conflict, cost and complacency. According to a joint study by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 10 countries accounted for 11.7 of the 19.4 million under and non-vaccinated youngsters in the world, in particular Nigeria (three million), India (2.6 million) and Pakistan (1.4 million). At the same time, global protection against four diseases that are regarded as a gauge of overall coverage - diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and measles - has “stalled” at around 86 per cent since 2010, the study found. 95 per cent coverage rate still eludes many countries A far higher level of coverage is needed to protect against vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks, UN health experts insist, noting that 118 countries achieved a 90 per cent coverage threshold last year. Ideally, it should be 95 per cent across countries and communities globally, they maintain. “Vaccines are one of our most important...
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July 15, 2019 No comments
Over 820 million people suffering from hunger; new UN report reveals stubborn realities of ‘immense’ global challenge
INTERNATIONAL, 15 July 2019, Economic Development - After nearly a decade of progress, the number of people who suffer from hunger has slowly increased over the past three years, with about one in every nine people globally suffering from hunger today, the United Nations said in a new report released on Monday. This fact underscores “the immense challenge” to achieving the Zero Hunger target of the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) by 2030, according to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2019. The report, launched on the margins of the High-level Political Forum (HLPF) – the main UN platform monitoring follow-up on States’ actions to the SDGs – currently under way in New York, breaks down statistics by region, and shows that hunger has risen almost 20 per...
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July 13, 2019 No comments
With half of Somaliland children not in school, UNICEF and partners launch education access programme
INTERNATIONAL, 13 July 2019, Culture and Education - Access to education in Somaliland is extremely limited, with more than 50 per cent of children in Somaliland out of school. In an effort to address the problem, the UN children’s fund, UNICEF, has partnered with the government, and the global fund Education Cannot Wait, to launch a programme designed to help children affected by ongoing crises in the country. Drought, food insecurity, poverty and inequality are some of the challenges that hinder efforts to get more Somaliland children and youth in schools. The education prospects for children in rural areas, and school age Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Somaliland are particularly poor: only 26 per cent of children in rural communities, and 16 per...
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