UN Alliance to put the fashion industry on the path to sustainability
The fashion industry is growing rapidly. Between 2000 and 2014, clothing production doubled with the average consumer buying 60% more items of clothing compared to 15 years ago. In July 2018, 10 different UN organizations agreed to establish a UN Alliance on Sustainable Fashion. The Alliance also aims to reach out to the private sector, governments of UN member States, NGOs and other relevant stakeholders.
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Unitaid’s new diagnostic technology takes HIV testing to people’s homes
Mariza and her newly born baby live in the countryside of Mozambique. Mariza wants to know if her baby has HIV, but she doesn’t have a means of transport to the hospital where tests are habitually carried out. Now, however, Mariza can be tested from home with Unitaid’s new diagnostic technology. Results can be seen within an hour, allowing treatment to start with immediate effect. With this new technology, Unitaid aims to double the number of babies receiving results and provide faster treatment.
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New payment method for air tickets successfully demonstrated by IATA
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced the successful completion of the first “IATA Pay”, the Open Banking live transaction for the airline industry. IATA Pay provides a new payment option for consumers when purchasing a ticket directly from an airline website. These regulations encourage use of so-called direct debit transactions, in which payments are made from the customer’s bank account directly into the bank account of the merchant. This method offers an extremely high level of security to both the user and the recipient and can be instantaneous.
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Josephine helps save lives with bicycle ambulances thanks to a project set up by Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) and its partners
Josephine lives in a small community in Namibia. After losing her older sister, unable to get transport to hospital following a complication during pregnancy, Josephine decided to become a community health volunteer (CHV). She is an emergency transport bicycle rider on challenging terrain, transporting children with suspected severe malaria to the health facility, as well as women experiencing maternal complications. She also helps children in her community with suspected severe malaria by educating them.
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The IFRC responded to 34 emergencies in 22 countries across Africa in 2018
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Africa faces recurrent emergencies, exacerbated by conflict, extreme weather and lack of long-term investments in resilience building. The top five emergencies that the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) responded to in 2018 included: 1. Responding to the needs of refugees fleeing into Uganda; 2. responding to the typhoid and cholera outbreak in Zimbabwe; 3. helping those affected by food insecurity in the Sahel region; 4. helping those affected by the floods in Nigeria and 5. reaching nearly 160,000 people affected by the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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Early weather warning services strengthened in the Caribbean thanks to the WMO, UNISDR and World Bank project
At the end of 2018, an initiative was launched to strengthen multi-hazard early warning systems in the Caribbean. The project, Strengthening Hydro-Meteorological and Early Warning Services in the Caribbean, is led by the World Bank together with the WMO and UNISDR, and others at a regional level. For the first time, the multifaceted approach used for this initiative brings global partners together with regional partners.
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Liza boost her honey business in Moldova with the support of UNCTAD
Liza, an entrepreneur, created her company to help boost honey sales in Maldova. She started selling honey in small jars to shops and cafés in the country's capital, Chişină, and more than doubled the price per kilo that her father’s nectar had been earning. Liza took part in an UNCTAD workshop, which was part of the green export review process. The reviews took centre stage at UNCTAD’s Green Export Forum in Geneva.
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UNHCR and IOM launch emergency plan to help refugees and migrants from Venezuela
Thanks to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and IOM, 95 organizations from around the world have been working together to address the urgent needs of all the refugees and migrants from Venezuela, and host communities. The regional Refugee and Migrant Response Plan (RMRP) was launched in Geneva in December 2018 and is the first of its kind in the Americas. It focuses on four key areas: direct emergency assistance; protection; socio-economic and cultural integration and strengthening capacities in the receiving countries.
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Meet 20-year-old, Kibiriti Majuto, an environmentally displaced refugee and author, in an interview with UN Environment
In recent years, a new category of involuntary migrants is emerging: ‘environmentally displaced people’. These are people forced to migrate due to climate-related issues such as natural disasters or degradation. Kibiriti Majuto is a 20-year-old refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo based in the United States. He is the main founder of the “Zero Hour Platform”, a movement that advocates for the need for climate justice and for nations to welcome more environmentally displaced people.
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