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Washington Post
2 days ago
- General
- Washington Post
These are 5 things the UN does that you may not have known
UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations' vast system has tackled everything from delivering life-saving humanitarian aid to providing crucial peacekeeping operations in conflict zones since it was established in the wake of World War II. As the international body closes in on 80 years, questions about its relevancy and efficiency have sharpened from supporters and critics alike. Recent U.S. cuts to foreign assistance and the reevaluation of humanitarian contributions by other countries have forced a reckoning for the U.N. The organization has long sought to highlight its unique role as the meeting place of global leaders, with an ambitious mandate to prevent another world war . Staffers, however, say the U.N. does more than respond to civilians' needs in war zones and debate resolutions in the Security Council. 'The things that are not on the radar of anyone, that nobody sees every day, that's what we do everywhere, in more than 150 countries,' said Diene Keita, executive director for programs at the U.N.'s population agency. Here are five things the U.N. does that you may not have known: U.N. agencies facilitate programs worldwide focused on women, tied to education, financial literacy, employment opportunities and more. Among the most sensitive services provided are those for victims of gender-based violence. In Chad, the U.N. Population Fund operates several rehabilitation programs for women and girls recovering from that trauma. One of them, Halima Yakoy Adam, was taken at age 15 to a Boko Haram training camp in Nigeria, where she and several other girls were forced to become suicide bombers. Adam managed to escape with severe injuries, while the others died in blasts. Through U.N. programs on the islands of Lake Chad, Adam received health and reproductive services as well as vocational training. She is now working as a paralegal in her community to assist other women and girls. 'We are not created to stay,' Keita said of U.N. agencies' long-term presence. 'So this is embedded in what we do every single day. We have that humility in knowing that we make a difference, so that people do not need us the next day.' Images of refugees at U.S. and European borders show the migration crisis around the world. Often overlooked are the refugees who are resettled in communities outside American and European cities, ones that resemble their home countries and cultural upbringings. Since 2016, the U.N.'s refugee agency has supported the integration of more than 50,000 refugees and asylum-seekers in Mexico. They arrived in southern Mexico and were relocated to industrial cities after being screened and granted asylum by the government. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees provides transportation, orientation and access to health, education and other social services. More than 650 companies have agreed to train and employ these people, whose labor has generated a $15 million annual contribution to the Mexican economy, according to the U.N. According to U.N. estimates, 94% of these working-age refugees have secured formal employment within their first month in the country and nearly 90% of school-age children have enrolled in school. The U.N. program also provides what staffers describe as clear pathways to Mexican citizenship. 'Mexico has become a country where people forced to flee can find the stability they need to restart their lives with dignity,' Giovanni Lepri, the top U.N. refugee agency official in Mexico, said in March. 'A strong asylum system and legal framework allows an effective integration of asylum-seekers and refugees.' U.N. agencies are present throughout various phases of war, from delivering food, water and medical supplies in an active military zone to the iconic 'Blue Helmets' — the military personnel deployed to help countries transition out of conflict. Less attention is paid to efforts made after the dust has settled. One of those initiatives, the United Nations Mine Action Service, was established in 1997 to facilitate projects aimed at mitigating the threat posed by unexploded munitions in countries years — and sometimes decades — after war. The U.N. estimates that on average, one person is killed or injured by land mines and other explosive ordnance every hour. In January, a 21-year-old man was harvesting olives in a Syrian orchard with two friends when they noticed a visible mine on the ground. Panicked, they tried to leave, but one of them stepped on a land mine and it exploded, amputating one of his legs above the knee. A month later, in Cambodia, a rocket-propelled grenade believed to be more than 25 years old killed two toddlers when it blew up near their homes. The U.N. program aims to work with communities in Syria, Afghanistan and Nigeria to safely locate and remove these remnants of war while providing education and threat assessments. Since its inception, the U.N. says more than 55 million land mines have been destroyed and over 30 countries have become mine-free. In a refugee camp in northwest Kenya, dozens of girls 12 to 18 have gathered every Saturday at a women's empowerment center to learn self-defense through a Taekwondo class. The program, launched by the U.N.'s Population Fund last year, has focused on providing an outlet for girls who have either been victims of gender-based violence or are at risk of it after fleeing conflict zones in countries like South Sudan, Ethiopia and Congo. The coaches are locals who understand the cultural and political dynamics their students face while living in a camp that is home to nearly 300,000 refugees. The goal is to use sports activities to create safe spaces for women and girls to discuss various issues like period poverty, abuse and domestic conflict. The program, which the U.N. has replicated in Egypt and elsewhere, is funded by the Olympic Refuge Foundation. Topics surrounding sex and reproductive issues were considered taboo for centuries in Buddhist communities. U.N. staffers have spent the past decade working with religious leaders in Bhutan and other countries in Asia to 'desensitize' the topics they believe are crucial to a healthy society. The campaign has led more than 1,500 nuns from 26 nunneries to hold discussions with community members around sexual and reproductive health and the prevention of gender-based violence. Now, at least 50 monks are trained to provide counseling services on these topics to students across Bhutan's 20 districts. The U.N. says these partnerships, which began in 2014, have contributed to a decrease in maternal mortality, an increase in contraception use, and better reproductive care for pregnant women.
Associated Press
2 days ago
- General
- Associated Press
These are 5 things the UN does that you may not have known
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations' vast system has tackled everything from delivering life-saving humanitarian aid to providing crucial peacekeeping operations in conflict zones since it was established in the wake of World War II. As the international body closes in on 80 years, questions about its relevancy and efficiency have sharpened from supporters and critics alike. Recent U.S. cuts to foreign assistance and the reevaluation of humanitarian contributions by other countries have forced a reckoning for the U.N. The organization has long sought to highlight its unique role as the meeting place of global leaders, with an ambitious mandate to prevent another world war. Staffers, however, say the U.N. does more than respond to civilians' needs in war zones and debate resolutions in the Security Council. 'The things that are not on the radar of anyone, that nobody sees every day, that's what we do everywhere, in more than 150 countries,' said Diene Keita, executive director for programs at the U.N.'s population agency. Here are five things the U.N. does that you may not have known: Providing training to women and girls who have faced gender-based violence U.N. agencies facilitate programs worldwide focused on women, tied to education, financial literacy, employment opportunities and more. Among the most sensitive services provided are those for victims of gender-based violence. In Chad, the U.N. Population Fund operates several rehabilitation programs for women and girls recovering from that trauma. One of them, Halima Yakoy Adam, was taken at age 15 to a Boko Haram training camp in Nigeria, where she and several other girls were forced to become suicide bombers. Adam managed to escape with severe injuries, while the others died in blasts. Through U.N. programs on the islands of Lake Chad, Adam received health and reproductive services as well as vocational training. She is now working as a paralegal in her community to assist other women and girls. 'We are not created to stay,' Keita said of U.N. agencies' long-term presence. 'So this is embedded in what we do every single day. We have that humility in knowing that we make a difference, so that people do not need us the next day.' Resettling refugees in Mexico Images of refugees at U.S. and European borders show the migration crisis around the world. Often overlooked are the refugees who are resettled in communities outside American and European cities, ones that resemble their home countries and cultural upbringings. Since 2016, the U.N.'s refugee agency has supported the integration of more than 50,000 refugees and asylum-seekers in Mexico. They arrived in southern Mexico and were relocated to industrial cities after being screened and granted asylum by the government. The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees provides transportation, orientation and access to health, education and other social services. More than 650 companies have agreed to train and employ these people, whose labor has generated a $15 million annual contribution to the Mexican economy, according to the U.N. According to U.N. estimates, 94% of these working-age refugees have secured formal employment within their first month in the country and nearly 90% of school-age children have enrolled in school. The U.N. program also provides what staffers describe as clear pathways to Mexican citizenship. 'Mexico has become a country where people forced to flee can find the stability they need to restart their lives with dignity,' Giovanni Lepri, the top U.N. refugee agency official in Mexico, said in March. 'A strong asylum system and legal framework allows an effective integration of asylum-seekers and refugees.' Eliminating exploding remnants of war U.N. agencies are present throughout various phases of war, from delivering food, water and medical supplies in an active military zone to the iconic 'Blue Helmets' — the military personnel deployed to help countries transition out of conflict. Less attention is paid to efforts made after the dust has settled. One of those initiatives, the United Nations Mine Action Service, was established in 1997 to facilitate projects aimed at mitigating the threat posed by unexploded munitions in countries years — and sometimes decades — after war. The U.N. estimates that on average, one person is killed or injured by land mines and other explosive ordnance every hour. In January, a 21-year-old man was harvesting olives in a Syrian orchard with two friends when they noticed a visible mine on the ground. Panicked, they tried to leave, but one of them stepped on a land mine and it exploded, amputating one of his legs above the knee. A month later, in Cambodia, a rocket-propelled grenade believed to be more than 25 years old killed two toddlers when it blew up near their homes. The U.N. program aims to work with communities in Syria, Afghanistan and Nigeria to safely locate and remove these remnants of war while providing education and threat assessments. Since its inception, the U.N. says more than 55 million land mines have been destroyed and over 30 countries have become mine-free. Teaching refugee girls self-defense in Kenya In a refugee camp in northwest Kenya, dozens of girls 12 to 18 have gathered every Saturday at a women's empowerment center to learn self-defense through a Taekwondo class. The program, launched by the U.N.'s Population Fund last year, has focused on providing an outlet for girls who have either been victims of gender-based violence or are at risk of it after fleeing conflict zones in countries like South Sudan, Ethiopia and Congo. The coaches are locals who understand the cultural and political dynamics their students face while living in a camp that is home to nearly 300,000 refugees. The goal is to use sports activities to create safe spaces for women and girls to discuss various issues like period poverty, abuse and domestic conflict. The program, which the U.N. has replicated in Egypt and elsewhere, is funded by the Olympic Refuge Foundation. Sex education by monks in Bhutan Topics surrounding sex and reproductive issues were considered taboo for centuries in Buddhist communities. U.N. staffers have spent the past decade working with religious leaders in Bhutan and other countries in Asia to 'desensitize' the topics they believe are crucial to a healthy society. The campaign has led more than 1,500 nuns from 26 nunneries to hold discussions with community members around sexual and reproductive health and the prevention of gender-based violence. Now, at least 50 monks are trained to provide counseling services on these topics to students across Bhutan's 20 districts. The U.N. says these partnerships, which began in 2014, have contributed to a decrease in maternal mortality, an increase in contraception use, and better reproductive care for pregnant women.
Times
6 days ago
- Politics
- Times
We're in a ‘global fertility crisis'. Does this woman have a solution?
Worrying about the decline in fertility used to be a fringe issue: the reserve of religious leaders, tweedy conservatives and cranky pronatalists. No longer. Last week the United Nations issued a report declaring a 'global fertility crisis'. According to Natalia Kanem, head of the UN Population Fund, which published the report, the world has 'begun an unprecedented decline in fertility rates'. The figures are stark, the consequences potentially grave. In 1950s Britain, for example, the average woman had 2.2 children. Now that figure is 1.44. We are not replacing ourselves. The question is why? The will to procreate is our most primal evolutionary urge, but something is dulling it. What's going on? • Britain needs babies! And PM should find the right words to say so The UN report cites many of the usual suspects: lack of childcare and job security, housing costs, fears about the future. One in five people surveyed in 14 countries said fears about climate change, war and pandemics held them back from reproducing. Thirty-nine per cent pointed to financial constraints. But what if there is something else going on too? One woman with a different answer is Alice Evans, a senior lecturer in the social science of development at King's College London. Evans, a brusque yet charming 38-year-old from Sevenoaks, Kent, has spent much of her professional life travelling round the world, speaking to people from Zambia to the Americas about children: why they want them, why they don't, and what is stopping them from having the family they might want. Evans acknowledges that the factors highlighted by the UN all play a role in the fertility crisis. Yet, she argues, none fully explain why this is happening everywhere, all at once — in countries with vastly different living standards, gender norms, parental leave policies and working practices. Could it be, Evans suggests, that we are spending so much time on the internet that we've stopped falling in love, stopped reproducing? Are we entertaining ourselves into oblivion? At first, this might seem outlandish. But dig into the data and it becomes surprisingly persuasive. 'Looking around the world, we see one really big change which coincides with the fall in fertility,' Evans says. Over the past 15 years or so, smartphones have become ubiquitous, and we have seen the rise of an astonishing array of online entertainment — from online sports gambling to pornography to television streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu. 'It's really only some parts of sub-Saharan Africa that have replacement fertility, which means that each woman would have over two kids in her lifetime,' Evans explains. 'In every other population in the world, we'd expect a contraction of the young working-age population.' What's so different about sub-Saharan Africa? Few people have smartphones. Evans fears that 'hyperengaging media' may be outcompeting the real-world interactions that lead to babies. We spend more time on screens and consequently more time alone. 'Young men in their twenties in the UK are spending as much time alone as men in their sixties and seventies,' she says. In today's Deliveroo and Netflix economy, we socialise less, meet fewer people, and are less likely to find the person with whom we want to have children. Dating apps are struggling to fill the gap. 'Looking both at marriage and cohabiting,' Evans says, 'both of those indicators are down. They are plummeting in Hong Kong, South Korea, across Southeast Asia, across South America.' She's just returned from Costa Rica, where the average age of marriage is 38 for men and 35 for women. In America, up to 55 per cent of under-34s have been estimated to be single. 'We know that half aren't even in a rush to get into a relationship, they aren't bothered about it,' she says. ● The nation's birthrate has plummeted. How did we get here? That fewer people feel rushed into relationships can, of course, be seen as a good thing: a sign of empowerment and freedom, particularly for women. But it's also the case that across the developed world, about a third of men say they are lonely. There is something of a vicious cycle at play too. As we socialise less, we become less charming, less interesting, less confident. 'If I spend every night scrolling or watching Bridgerton, then I'm not necessarily finessing my social skills,' Evans says. 'Maybe I don't have the confidence to just go up to a group of guys, or maybe I don't have a ready group of people to go out with.' Men and women also experience the internet in different ways. Social media algorithms show them different news, different opinions, amplifying the gender divide. It means that across many western countries, the political and cultural gap between young women (who tend to be on the left) and young men (on the right) is growing. Data from Gallup last year showed that American women are 30 percentage points more liberal than American men. In this country, many point to the exorbitant cost of childcare as an inhibiting factor for starting a family. Yet Sweden, with its abundant parental leave and universal childcare, has a birthrate very slightly lower than the UK's. Housing is expensive in many places, yes. But if housing was the major friction, Evans argues, 'we might expect young people to do the cheaper thing and live communally. Across Europe we've seen a massive increase in young men living by themselves.' Evans argues that declining fertility is a threat to our way of life. Without massive migration or some sort of boost from technology such as artificial intelligence, our working-age population will go into decline, our tax base will shrink, our welfare bill will balloon and our towns and villages will begin to resemble parts of rural Italy or Spain, which have begun to empty out. 'If you want to maintain our current standard of living and if you want to maintain economic growth, this is something we should take extremely seriously,' she says. It may also change our political leanings, with religious conservatives having more children than liberal progressives. Even the steps required to tackle climate change will be difficult without a large working population to pay the bill. So what can we do about it? There is no fix-all cure, Evans says. She herself has no children. She was born with Rokitansky syndrome, which means that she has no womb and only one ovary. For a small group of women, including her, improvements in IVF and other fertility technologies could be very important. • How do we get our babies back? More broadly, Evans suggests that if we want to see birthrates increase, and maintain our current standards of living, the government might consider providing serious tax incentives for those who have children. More youth clubs and more community groups might help, she suggests, as would making our culture more family-friendly. Evans would love to see more (and better) rom coms made, with plots celebrating finding love and having a family. She also suggests that we need a serious conversation about tech, and how we make it work for us. 'We need to tackle all these issues at once,' she says. 'No one policy, no one sledgehammer is going to fix everything.' In the midst of all this worrying news, however, there is one thing to celebrate. On Friday Evans married her partner, Usama Polani, a macroeconomist. Now, it's over to the rest of us to pair off.
New York Times
11-06-2025
- Business
- New York Times
The Real Fertility Crisis? Money, a U.N. Report Says.
Vietnam just abandoned its policy limiting families to two children. China now says, 'Three is best.' The Russian government is targeting child-free lifestyles. And the White House is mulling baby bonuses. Many countries are trying to reverse record low birthrates, but a new report from the United Nations Population Fund contends that governments are operating on a 'fertility fallacy' — an assumption that young people no longer want children, or at least not as many as they once did. Policymakers, the report says, are failing to recognize the real crisis: money. In surveying people in 14 countries on four continents, the agency found that financial security is a major issue for people considering whether to have children. Its report, published on Tuesday, says that many people have, or expect to have, fewer children than they wanted. 'It is often assumed or implied that fertility rates are the result of free choice,' the report said. 'Unfortunately, that is not the whole picture.' The report pushes back on a cultural and political narrative preoccupied with raising fertility, which blames younger generations, particularly women, for not having children because it would interfered with their desired lifestyles. Instead of lamenting the rise of what Vice President JD Vance called 'childless cat ladies,' or blaming individuals for dwindling populations, as many 'pro-natalists' have, experts say that those who worry about stagnant or declining populations should scrutinize the conditions that make people doubt that they can raise children with a sense of financial security. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Time of India
10-06-2025
- Health
- Time of India
In Delhi, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, educated middle-class put off childbirth
NEW DELHI: Even as India's fertility rate is declining, many people in India, especially women, still face significant barriers to making free and informed decisions about their reproductive lives, says the UN Population Fund's State of World Population Report released Tuesday. These barriers create what the report identified as India's "high fertility and low fertility duality". The fertility rate has come down from nearly five children per woman in 1970 to about two, courtesy improved education and access to reproductive healthcare. The TFR fell below the replacement level rate to 2.0 for the first time in the National Family Health Survey (2019-21). States such as Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh continue to experience high fertility rates. Here, unintended and closely spaced births are common due to poor contraceptive and health services, and gender norms, it said. On the other hand, states such as Delhi, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have sustained below-replacement fertility with many couples delaying or skipping childbirth due to costs and work-life conflict, especially among educated middle-class women. The report called for a shift from panic over falling fertility to addressing unmet reproductive goals as it highlighted that millions of individuals are not able to realise their real fertility goals. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 3/4 BHK from ₹ 1.68 Crore*, Bengaluru Birla Estates Learn More Undo "This is the real crisis, not underpopulation or overpopulation. The answer lies in greater reproductive agency - a person's ability to make free and informed choices about sex, contraception and starting a family," it said. In line with these trends, a UNFPA-YouGov survey of 14,000 respondents across14 countries, including India, challenged global narratives around "population explosion vs population collapse" as it showed that one in three adult Indians (36%) face unintended pregnancies while 30% experience unfulfilled desire of having either more or fewer children. Notably, 23% faced both. Financial limitation is one of the biggest barriers to reproductive freedom with nearly four in 10 people citing it as a reason stopping them from having the families they want. Job insecurity (21%), housing constraints (22%), and lack of reliable childcare (18%) are making parenthood feel out of reach.
