Population

The United Nations Population Fund launched a $835 million appeal to reach 54 million women, girls and young people in 61 countries in 2022 — the agency’s largest ever humanitarian appeal — seeking integrated sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence services, as well as comprehensive support for survivors of violence.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) today said that food commodity prices in the international market rose for the fourth consecutive month in November.  The FAO Food Price Index averaged 134.4 points in the month, the highest level since June 2011 and 1.2 per cent higher than during October.

Following consultations with the Executive Board of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), United Nations Secretary‑General António Guterres has reappointed Natalia Kanem (Panama) as Executive Director of UNFPA for a second term of four years.

The United Nations team and its partners in Haiti are responding to the needs of some 500,000 people affected by the August earthquake.  Despite constraints, 13 emergency medical teams have been established, over 35 metric tons of supplies have been deployed and $330,000 in emergency cash has been transferred.

The United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) has launched a new Peace Fellows programme to increase participation in the country’s peace process.  It brings together representatives from all 10 states and three administrative areas to share information about the 2018 Peace Agreement, with a focus on education.

The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat has a new draft Global Biodiversity Framework to guide actions worldwide through 2030 to preserve and protect nature, and its essential services to people.  It will serve as the basis for negotiations at the Biodiversity Conference in Kunming, China, in October.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for World Population Day, observed on 11 July:

Unrelenting drought in southern Madagascar is forcing hundreds of thousands of people to the brink of famine, the World Food Programme (WFP) reports.  At least 1.35 million people need emergency food and nutrition assistance.  Acute malnutrition in children under 5 has almost doubled over the last four months.

Facing challenging virtual negotiations and a history of gridlock, the Economic and Social Council’s Commission on Population and Development marked a major achievement today as it adopted its first consensus outcome document in five years, at the conclusion of its fifty-fourth session, with delegates praising the timely focus on links between food security, nutrition, sustainable development and the devastating COVID-19 pandemic.

Population experts from the United Nations and Governments around the globe explored populating ageing and other emerging demographic trends, and weighed innovative ways to collect and use data, as the Economic and Social Council’s Commission on Population and Development continued its annual session today.