Diabetes is a disease that occurs when blood glucose (blood sugar) is too high. Insulin, a hormone made by the pancreas, helps glucose from food get from the blood into cells to be used for energy. In diabetes, the body does not make enough—or any—insulin or doe not use insulin well. Glucose then stays in […]
4.2 billion people -- over half the world's population -- lack safe sanitation. 3 billion people -- 40% of the world's population -- live without basic handwashing facilities with soap and water available at home. 800 children die each day from diarrhoeal diseases (such as cholera and typhoid) due to poor hygiene, poor sanitation or […]
Established in 1954 as Universal Children's Day, the now-named World Children's Day is to promote international togetherness and awareness among children worldwide, and to improve children's welfare. The date marks the adoption of both the 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the Child and the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child. World Children's […]
1 in 3 women and girls experience physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, most frequently by an intimate partner. Only 52% of women married or in a union freely make their own decisions about sexual relations, contraceptive use and health care. 71% of all human trafficking victims worldwide are women and girls, and 3 […]
World Aids Day is to fight against HIV, to show support for people living with HIV, and to commemorate those who have died from an AIDS-related illness. AIDS is the late stage of HIV infection that occurs when the body’s immune system is badly damaged because of the virus. With appropriate medication that stops the […]
International Day of People with Disability is to increase public awareness, understanding and acceptance of people with disability and celebrate their achievements and contributions. Each year the UN announces a theme to provide an overarching focus on how society can strive for inclusivity through the removal of physical, technological and attitudinal barriers for people with […]
Home to 15% of the world´s population, mountains host about half of the world's biodiversity hotspots and provide freshwater to half of humanity. Of the 20 plant species that supply 80% of the world's food, six originated and have been diversified in mountains: maize, potatoes, barley, sorghum, tomatoes, and apples. Climate change and overexploitation (unsustainable […]
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) notes that there is no universally accepted definition for migrant, and that this word is an umbrella term, not defined under international law, reflecting the common lay understanding of a person who moves away from his or her place of usual residence, whether within a country or across an […]