Headlines

Maternal Deaths Halved in 20 Years, but Faster Progress Needed

UNITED NATIONS, New York – The number of women dying of pregnancy and childbirth related complications has almost halved in 20 years, according to new estimates released today by the World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the World Bank.

New York, Tuesday 15 May 2012

Checked against delivery

I have just completed a three day visit to Afghanistan – my first to the country. I wanted to see for myself the level and severity of humanitarian need that people in Afghanistan face today, and to look at ways in which we, the Government and our partners can improve the way we address not just immediate needs, but also the underlying cause of that need.

Information matters, especially for individuals affected by severe crises like the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. But critically, new research shows that listening to audiences may be just as important.

A new paper based on research done for Internews’ humanitarian information radio program launched in Haiti after the earthquake shows that information is a critical component of any humanitarian assistance or development program. Marcus Garcia, owner of the Haitian radio station Melody FM, made the point plain and simple: “Information is as important as food.”

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Of all large natural disasters, earthquakes and their secondary hazards have claimed the largest number of lives in recent years. Between 2000 and 2008 alone, an average of 50,184 people were killed every year due to seismic events (IFRC, World Disasters Report, 2010). The years 2010 and 2011 have been particularly harsh reminders of this fact with the devastating earthquake in Haiti and the massive earthquake, tsunami and nuclear emergency in Japan.
These were just two among a series of other major seismic events across the world.

1. General Overview

• 63,000 families – almost half a million people – are estimated to have been recently displaced from Khyber Agency. However, the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) states that only 47,860 families (208,971 people) have registered as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) at Jalozai camp, out of which 10% are residing in the camp while the remaining are living with host communities in Peshawar and surrounding areas.
  

Cities push for resilience as global disaster losses hit $500 billion

BONN, 14 May 2012 - Addressing city leaders at the 2012 Resilient Cities Congress, the UN's top disaster risk reduction official Margareta Wahlström today launched a new phase of the Making Cities Resilient campaign which now includes 1,020 cities around the globe.

The action comes as the UN prepares for the largest-ever summit on sustainable development in Rio de Janeiro next month.