Useful Reports from Related United Nations and
Non-governmental Organizations
 

The tragedy of hunger in the midst of plenty is still a stark reality in today's world. This report monitors the progress made each year towards fulfilment of the basic right of all human beings to live without fear of hunger or malnutrition. This third issue conveys a mixed message: progress has been made in reducing the absolute number of hungry people in the world, but this is not happening fast enough to achieve the 1996 World Food Summit target - that of halving the number of hungry people by 2015.

Twenty years after the first clinical evidence of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome was reported, AIDS has become the most devastating disease humankind has ever faced. Since the epidemic began, more than 60 million people have been infected with the virus. HIV/AIDS is now the leading cause of death in sub-Saharan Africa. Worldwide, it is the fourth biggest killer.

Technology networks are transforming the traditional map of development, expanding people's horizons and creating the potential to realize in a decade progress that required generations in the past.

Global Environment Outlook 2000
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

UNEP's Global Environment Outlook 2000 is a unique product of a unique process. Prepared with the participation of more than 850 individuals around the world, and in collaboration with more than 30 environmental institutes as well as other United Nations agencies, the resulting report presents a comprehensive integrated assessment of the global environment at the turn of the millennium. It is a summing up of where we have reached to date as users and custodians of the environmental goods and services provided by our planet. It is also a forward-looking document, providing a vision into the 21st century.

The State of the World's Children 2002: Leadership
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)

The State of the World's Children 2002 is about the leadership that was needed to turn commitments made at the 1990 World Summit for Children into actions that improved the lives of children and families. It is also about the leadership that is necessary now and into the future in order to ensure the right of every child to live in peace, health and dignity.

World Development Report 2002:
Building Institutions for Markets
The World Bank Group

Weak institutions-tangled laws, corrupt courts, deeply biased credit systems, and elaborate business registration requirements-hurt poor people and hinder development, according to the World Development Report 2002: Building Institutions for Markets.

The World Health Report 2001
Mental Health - New Understanding, New Hope
World Health Organization (WHO)

In devoting The World Health Report 2001 to mental health, WHO is making one clear, emphatic statement.  Mental health - neglected for far too long - is crucial to the overall well-being of individuals, societies and countries and must be universally regarded in a new light.

Ageing in a Gendered World: Women's Issues and Identities
WomenWatch

In every region, populations are getting older. Moreover, ageing is a gendered phenomenon: women live longer, they have fewer resources, and they are expected to care for elderly relatives as well as young children. The causes are familiar: lower - or nonexistent - pay for 'women's work' and breaks in earnings history add up to lower pension income, while social and cultural norms assign women to take care of both young and old, regardless of the costs to themselves. In many places, women are the community caregivers, yet their own need for care goes unmet.

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