NEWS
Diverging Views Delay Conclusion of Negotiations on Universal Health Coverage Declaration
9 August 2019: The political declaration on universal health coverage is still under negotiation after the latest draft failed to garner consensus approval. The text is being prepared ahead of the UN General Assembly’s (UNGA) high-level meeting on UHC in September 2019.
Sustainable Land Management Critical to Combating Climate Change: IPCC Special Report 8 August 2019: The 50th session of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC-50) has released the Special Report on Climate Change and Land (SRCCL), addressing land as a critical resource, desertification and land degradation, food security, and land and climate change responses. The report represents the first-ever comprehensive look at the whole land-climate system. It is also the first IPCC report to take a more systemic approach to a sector or area (the food system).
IPCC Special Report on Land to Add Impetus to UNCCD COP 14 Negotiations 7 August 2019: Preparations are underway for the 14th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 14) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), which takes place from 2-13 September 2019 in New Delhi, India. Several recently released global assessments, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Climate Change and Land (SRCCL), as well as a high-level dialogue exploring “missing links” in the Convention’s implementation are expected to provide new impetus to efforts to achieve the UNCCD’s targets.
UNGA Sets Plans for Reducing SDG Gaps, Overlaps 7 August 2019: UN Member States agreed on a five-paragraph text on strengthening alignment and coherence among the agendas of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and other UN bodies and fora in light of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development. The elements were discussed through intergovernmental consultations and are provided as input to the Assembly’s annual resolution on the revitalization of its work.
Countries Finalize Declaration on Landlocked Countries’ Development Needs 7 August 2019: UN Member States have reached agreement on the political declaration of the high-level midterm review of the implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action (VPoA) for landlocked developing countries (LLDCs). The VPoA covers the decade 2014-2024, and the midterm review meeting will convene in December 2019.
Climate Action Summit Coalitions to Present Initiatives during Pre-Summit Meetings 26 July 2019: Representatives of governments, civil society, local authorities, international organizations, the private sector and other stakeholders have been working in nine coalitions to develop “credible and ambitious initiatives” to be featured at the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit on 23 September. A series of pre-Summit events will provide an opportunity for the coalitions to present their work to the Secretary-General ahead of the Summit.
UN Identifies Lessons Learned from Raising Health Funds in Kenya June 2019: The UN Development Operations Coordination Office (DOCO), with the Dag Hammarskjold Foundation, studied Kenya’s experience in raising private-sector financing and support to provide healthcare for all. The study is part of a broader research effort to identify, document, analyze and share best practices from UN Country Teams that have successfully accessed financing for the SDGs.