A new United Nations report shows for the first time how poor health is linked to poverty in cities and calls on policymakers to identify those that need the most help and target measures to improve their well-being. The report, entitled “Hidden Cities: unmasking and overcoming health inequities in urban settings,” was launched today in Kobe, Japan, where leaders from governments, academia, media and non-governmental organizations have been meeting for the...

Developed countries at the 15th Conference had committed themselves to providing around $30 billion for 2010-12 The fund is for supporting developing countries' climate efforts No clarity on how donors will channel the fast-start funds Developed countries are failing to meet the funding pledges that they made at the Climate Summit in Copenhagen last December to support developing countries' climate efforts. At the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP-15) in Copenhagen, developed countries...

Report reveals the need to reach target levels of coverage for life-saving interventions India has the highest number of pneumonia-related deaths in the world Only three countries reported coverage above the target level of 90 per cent for any vaccine Pneumonia, which is the world's leading infectious killer among children, claims the lives of nearly 1.6 million children under five every year, with more than 3,70,000 or nearly one-quarter of deaths occurring in...

A fast growing economy is a thirsty economy and India is no exception—with the country’s water supply already under great strain, India must reassess its consumption to meet escalating demands for water to produce food and energy. Business-as-usual water practices cannot remain the same in India as the economy and its demand for freshwater grows over the coming decades. With an astounding 75% of freshwater already used for agriculture in India,...

Launched 20 years ago with the simple line that "people are the real wealth of a nation", the United Nations' Human Development Report has become the most trusted annual indicator of progress in developing nations. The 20th anniversary report charts progress going back 20 years before that first publication - so it is an ambitious attempt to chart development achievements - or not - going back 40 years. The UN Development Programme's...