Nearly 65% of adults in the Arab region remain excluded from formal financial systems, according to a new report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).

Central to the achievement of the Agenda for Sustainable Development is an adequate, equitably distributed and fully supported health workforce.

For billions of people, mountain meltwater is essential for drinking water and sanitation, food and energy security, and the integrity of the environment. But today, as the world warms, glaciers are melting faster than ever, making the water cycle more unpredictable and extreme.

The world’s governments are falling far short of the pledges they made in 2015 to eradicate extreme poverty and create a world with “zero hunger” by 2030 – the first and second Sustainable Development Goals. Behind the raw numbers of the SDG data, millions of people are living with avoidable poverty and preventable hunger.

India, currently the most populous country globally and the fourth-largest economy, is at a crucial juncture in achieving decarbonisation. At the core is its transport sector, which is responsible for about 14% of the country’s direct energy-related emissions.

This new UN report says financing challenges are at the heart of the world’s sustainable development crisis – as staggering debt burdens and sky-high borrowing costs prevent developing countries from responding to the confluence of crises they face.

The world wasted an estimated 19 per cent of the food produced globally in 2022, or about 1.05 billion metric tons, according to this new report by the UNEP.

For 2024 to be an exemplary year for the African continent, continental leaders in government and business alike must individually and collectively address and navigate a complex set of domestic, regional and international risks and challenges.

Developing and maintaining a secure and equitable water future underpins prosperity and peace for all. The relationship also works in the opposite direction, as poverty and inequality, social tensions, and conflict can amplify water insecurity.

The number of children who died before their fifth birthday has reached a historic low, dropping to 4.9 million in 2022, according to this latest estimates released by the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME).