cat

At the Best-dos Santos Public Health Laboratory in Barbados, laboratory technologists play a crucial yet often unseen role in safeguarding public health. Their work involves identifying disease-causing organisms and determining effective antibiotics, which directly informs patient treatment, supports infection prevention, and strengthens national preparedness. This diagnostic function is essential in combating antimicrobial resistance (AMR), where… [Read More]

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) convened the first ReLAVRA+ webinar of 2026, bringing together countries across Latin America and the Caribbean to strengthen regional capacity for measuring, interpreting, and responding to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The session marked an important step in advancing coordinated surveillance efforts and improving how countries use laboratory data to guide… [Read More]

Laboratories play a critical but often invisible role in public health by generating the data that guides how infections are diagnosed and treated. When this information is accurate, standardized, and consistently interpreted, it becomes essential in addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR), a growing global threat that makes many infections increasingly difficult to treat. In January 2026,… [Read More]

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) team has been actively engaging with regional and international partners across the Caribbean in early 2026 to strengthen coordination, share knowledge, and advance collective action against AMR. These efforts are supported in part by the UK Fleming Fund–backed initiative “Strengthening Antimicrobial Resistance Response in the Caribbean,”… [Read More]

Pacific communities are already experiencing the direct impacts of climate change, including rising sea levels, stronger storms, saltwater intrusion, and shifting coastlines. These environmental pressures are forcing families and communities to make difficult choices about whether to stay in place, adapt to changing conditions, or relocate. While some communities have already moved, many others are… [Read More]

Sweden implemented a ban on fossil fuel exploration and extraction in 2022 despite not being a fossil fuel producer, positioning itself as part of a wider global shift toward supply-side climate policy. The study finds that the ban succeeded due to a combination of strong political entrepreneurship, weak organised opposition, and existing policy precedents, and… [Read More]

An initiative to strengthen Nepal’s response to climate change at the local level has been launched in Kathmandu through the UN Capital Development Fund’s Local Climate Adaptive Living (LoCAL) Facility, in collaboration with Nepal’s Ministry of Forests and Environment and supported by the Governments of Australia and Sweden. The programme aims to help local governments… [Read More]

Sara Wolelaw, a diplomat at Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, initially believed the national Digital Financial Literacy campaign was intended mainly for entrepreneurs and tech professionals, but after participating, she gained confidence in using digital payments, mobile money, and other financial tools and now actively encourages other women in her ministry to adopt them. She… [Read More]

Higher education systems across the Commonwealth are facing increasing financial pressure as universities are expected to deliver more in areas such as skills development, innovation, productivity, and social cohesion, while simultaneously dealing with declining public funding, rising operational costs, and expanding expectations. In response to these challenges, the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) is launching… [Read More]

Young people today face a wide range of interconnected challenges that impact their physical, mental, and social well-being, including rising mental health pressures, social exclusion, economic uncertainty, digital risks, and climate-related stress. These challenges are further shaped by broader factors such as education, employment opportunities, social protection systems, and access to inclusive services. In response,… [Read More]

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has appointed Ghana’s Anita Kiki Gbeho as the new Special Representative for South Sudan and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), succeeding the late Nicholas Haysom of South Africa. Guterres acknowledged Haysom’s leadership and long service to the UN while announcing the new appointment. Gbeho brings… [Read More]

A draft United Nations resolution on climate change is being negotiated to transform the International Court of Justice’s 2025 Advisory Opinion into concrete global action and stronger accountability for states. The ICJ opinion, though non-binding, confirmed that protecting the climate system is a legal obligation under international law and that failure to address greenhouse gas… [Read More]

The Government of Japan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have launched a new initiative in Afghanistan titled “Resilient Income Solutions Empowering Alternative Livelihoods” (RISE) to support vulnerable communities facing climate shocks, economic instability, the collapse of the poppy economy, and increasing returnee pressures. Funded with USD 2.35 million and running from March 2026… [Read More]

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in partnership with Mongolia’s Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry (MoFALI) and with funding from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), has launched a six-year project titled “Eliminating Hazardous Chemicals from Supply Chains in Mongolia.” The initiative aims to phase out toxic and hazardous chemicals from the country’s wool,… [Read More]

The Financial Resilience in Agriculture (FRA) initiative, led by UNDP’s Insurance and Risk Finance Facility and funded by the Gates Foundation, aims to strengthen the financial resilience of smallholder farmers against climate change by expanding innovative agricultural insurance systems across five countries. Building on this work, the FRA Community of Practice (CoP) serves as a… [Read More]

A US$5.2 million Global Environment Facility (GEF)-funded initiative has been launched to support low-carbon, climate-resilient and nature-positive urban development in Nairobi, Kenya. The five-year project, implemented by UNEP and UN-Habitat in partnership with the Government of Kenya and Nairobi City County, will pilot integrated green neighbourhood approaches in Kamukunji, aiming to improve living conditions for… [Read More]

The 2026–27 human rights and equality grants scheme has opened, offering a total of €350,000 to support projects that advance human rights and equality across three key areas: disability rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, efforts to tackle racism and racial discrimination under the UN Convention on the Elimination… [Read More]

The Industry Growth Program provides support to help businesses commercialise innovative products, processes, and services, with the latest round of funding backing five projects aligned with the National Reconstruction Fund’s priority areas. Bioborne has received $2,267,343 to scale its AI-powered closed-loop microalgae production system, which is being developed to create bio-fertilisers aimed at improving crop… [Read More]

In Port Harcourt, reliable electricity has proven to be critical for effective primary health care delivery. In many parts of Nigeria, frequent power outages have long disrupted essential services, forcing health workers to rely on generators or improvised lighting during emergencies. These challenges have affected vaccine storage, delayed medical procedures, and compromised patient safety, particularly… [Read More]

Human Rights Watch has reported that both government and opposition forces in South Sudan are obstructing humanitarian access and forcing civilians to evacuate populated areas, worsening an already severe humanitarian crisis. Since late 2025, repeated evacuation orders from both sides have displaced hundreds of thousands of people, often pushing them into even more dangerous and… [Read More]

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, in coordination with the Turkish Red Crescent, has launched a cross-border humanitarian operation to deliver critical medical supplies and relief items from Türkiye to Iran. The shipment includes trauma kits, tents, blankets, and hygiene supplies aimed at addressing rapidly growing humanitarian needs. The aid convoy… [Read More]

A recent ruling by the Supreme Court in Eswatini has upheld a High Court order granting lawyers access to individuals deported from the United States and detained at the Matsapha Correctional Complex. The decision has been described by Amnesty International as an important step in protecting the right to legal representation for those affected. Despite… [Read More]

The conflict in Sudan, which began in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, has triggered one of the world’s largest displacement crises. According to the UNHCR, around 14 million people—nearly a quarter of the population—have been forced to flee, with millions displaced internally and others seeking refuge in neighbouring… [Read More]