Following Achim Steiner’s June 2025 departure, the questions loom: Who will replace him? What sort of person does UNDP need? And why does it even matter? Credit: Shutterstock By Felix Dodds and Chris SpenceSAN FRANCISCO, California / APEX, North Carolina, US, Aug 22 2025 – In June this year, UNDP bade farewell to Achim Steiner. The ninth Administrator in UNDP’s history had completed a...

Tom Fletcher, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and Emergency Relief Coordinator, speaks at the Commemoration Ceremony for World Humanitarian Day 2025, held at Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. Credit: UN Photo/Violaine Martin By Oritro KarimUNITED NATIONS, Aug 22 2025 – World Humanitarian Day (August 19) honors humanitarian aid workers, raises public awareness...

Least Developed Countries account for less than 1 percent of world trade. Credit: Ali Mkumbwa/Unsplash By Deodat MaharajGEBZE, Türkiye, Aug 22 2025 – Artificial intelligence and the use of frontier technologies are already transforming trade and boosting prosperity, particularly for developed and some developing countries. This ranges from the digital exchange of documents, the digitalisation...

The IPC confirmed famine conditions in Gaza City, Deir al Balah and Khan Younis. Credit: UNICEF/Mohammed Nateel By Naureen HossainUNITED NATIONS, Aug 22 2025 – The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has officially declared that there is famine in Gaza. The world’s biggest food monitoring system raised its classification to Phase 5, the highest level on its food insecurity...

Credit: United Nations By Thalif DeenUNITED NATIONS, Aug 22 2025 – A system-wide UN survey of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA), described as “grave violations of human rights”, has revealed that in 2024, there were 675 allegations reported. A UN message to staffers last week says this is “widely believed” to be “significant underreporting” because the real numbers may be much...