UN - Top Stories

1. Peace or war, midwives keep delivering

   Millions of lives each year rely on the expertise and care of midwives and yet a global shortage is squeezing the profession like never before, the UN sexual and reproductive health agency UNPFA said on Sunday, marking the International Day of the Midwife. 

2. Trafficking in the Sahel: Cracking down on illicit drugs

   Cocaine, cannabis and opioids are getting easier to buy as criminal networks and armed groups capitalise on the fragile Sahel region’s “natural stopover point” to Europe on trafficking routes from South America, but authorities with help from the UN are taking down criminal networks and making a record number of seizures of illicit drugs.

3. First Person: Women in Madagascar too ashamed to seek help giving birth

   Some of the poorest women in an underdeveloped region south of Madagascar are “too ashamed” to seek the maternal health services they need, according to a midwife working in a health centre supported by United Nations agencies, but that may be about to change.

4. ‘Our voices need to be included’: Trinidadian youth make case for strong role in climate negotiations

   Trinidad and Tobago is described as one of the “frontline States”, those nations that are most severely affected by the impact of the climate emergency, and youth activists are among the most prominent voices in the country calling for stronger action to combat the crisis, both at home and abroad.

5. ‘Moral obligation’ of Haitian NGO worker to carry on despite kidnapping of two children

   A woman whose two children were kidnapped on the way to school in Haiti has said she feels a moral obligation to continue her work supporting displaced people despite the trauma the family has experienced