Category United Nations

Be it any day of the year, the World Food Programme (WFP) has 5,600 trucks, 20 ships and 92 planes on the move, delivering food to the hungry around the world.

All of its work is devoted to people who cannot find food for themselves and their families. This organisation feeds around 86.7 million people in around 83 countries every year and is undoubtedly the world’s largest humanitarian programme that addresses hunger.

The World Food Programme (WFP) is an international community that is committed to end hunger, and achieve food security and improved nutrition. WFP was established in 1961 as an experimental food aid programme of the UN.

The experiment proved successful. Two-thirds of the work of the WFP today is in conflict-affected countries. It strives to eliminate the need for food aid in the coming years.

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Our ecosystem is weak due to prolonged mismanagement by human beings. We are in great danger and if not treated with care, the Earth would become uninhabitable soon.

A lot of people are involved in the conservation efforts that aim to preserve what we have and restore the balance of Mother Nature. The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is a global environmental organisation that works with the same motive.

The UNEP serves as the advocate for the global environment and deals with setting agendas and policies that would lead to the conservation of the environment and sustainable development.

Apart from this, the UNEP also assists developing countries in implementing environmentally sound policies and practices.

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The fact that no cure exists for AIDS makes it a dreadful disease. The available medicines can only slow down the rate of the spread of infection. Moreover, the stigma associated with the disease makes the lives of the HIV affected harder.

The United Nations has taken this pandemic into consideration and has established the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.

The UNAIDS mission was conceived to prevent the transmission of HIV, and provide care and support for those already living with the virus. It also works to reduce the vulnerability of individuals and communities to HIV, and to alleviate the impact of the epidemic.

This programme involves interaction with people living with HIV. The programme was launched officially in 1996 and works in cooperation with many sectors from the government and civil society.

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In 1950, almost one-third of the world’s population lived in cities. Within 50 years, our towns and cities grew at a fast rate and became the hub of economic and social progress. These cities offered many opportunities and the number of city dwellers rose to include almost 50 per cent of the world’s population which created problems of space and habitat for all.

Slums began to develop in the cities. In addition to this, pollution and diseases began to spread. It also created problems of clean water, sanitation and shelter. This is where the work of the UN-Habitat comes in.

The goal of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is sustainable urbanisation. Established in 1978, it was the outcome of Habitat I, the first UN Conference on Human Settlements and Sustainable Urban Development.

The UN-Habitat promotes socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities. It largely looks at the urban poor and works to provide adequate shelter for all.

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The Annual Report to the United Nations General Assembly in 1969 had a proposal that was not previously thought of. The proposal was put forward by U Thant who then served as the UN Secretary-General. He suggested the opening of a United Nations University that would stay true to the nature of the UN- peace and progress.

After round of study about the feasibility of such an institution, it was finally opened in 1975 in Tokyo. The United Nations University works as the academic and research wing of the United Nations.

The university conducts research in areas like world hunger, natural resources, and human and social development. It also conducts a lot of studies about environment, climate and energy.

The United Nations University is not just a research facility. It started offering masters and doctoral programmes since 2010. It is now a global think tank and postgraduate teaching organisation that works for the development and welfare of humanity.

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Millions of Europeans either lost their homes or fled from their homeland after the Second World War. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) was created in 1950 to help these homeless refugees. The UNHCR is still at work today protecting refugees, forcibly displaced communities and stateless people.

The UNHCR worked relentlessly for the refugees in Hungary, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, and South Asia. Currently, this organisation works in a total of 134 countries to safeguard the rights and well-being of people who have been forced out of their homelands. Apart from finding permanent solutions, its work also ensures that everybody has the right to seek asylum and find safe refuge in another country.

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