The World Bank and the United Nations have agreed that they will work more closely in addressing global challenges, including?sustainable development, health and education.
In his meeting with Kim Jim Yong, the new President of the World Bank, during the week, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the two organisations were the “strongest partners” in addressing the peace and development agenda and were happy to work together very closely.
“We will work regularly to raise awareness, as well as to mobilise resources, and mobilise political will to help member states to achieve these goals (Millennium Development Goals),” said Ban.
He also discussed with Kim global health issues, saying: “Our target is to save 16 million women and children who would be dying needlessly from preventable diseases. I really count on Dr Kim's leadership on that.”?
This was the first time that Kim visited the UN headquarters since he assumed the post on 1 July.
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Meanwhile, the United Nations has announced that it will allocate $55 million to bolster operations in eight countries with neglected humanitarian emergencies.
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Afghanistan, Cameroon, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ethiopia, Madagascar, Sri Lanka and Sudan will all receive funds from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to help provide food, water, health and other basic services.
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“These CERF grants provide critical funding. The money will save lives by helping aid agencies reach people in desperate need,” said the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos, said in a news release.
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“I hope this funding will also serve to draw attention to their situation, as millions more people are still in need.”
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Launched in 2006 and managed by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), CERF enables the fast delivery of life-saving assistance to people affected by natural disasters and other crises worldwide.
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It is funded by voluntary contributions from Member States, non-governmental organizations, regional governments, the private sector and individual donors.
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The new allocations will bring the total amount allocated by CERF to more than $158 million this year, as 13 countries were given nearly $104 million in January.
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Each year, a third of all CERF funds are earmarked for underfunded emergencies to help improve the balance of global humanitarian aid distribution. Since 2006, nearly a third of the $2.6 billion allocated from CERF has gone to neglected crises in more than 40 countries.
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Earlier on Thursday, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched a new independent global network of research centres, universities and technical institutions to help find solutions for some of the world’s most pressing environmental, social and economic problems.
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The Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) will work with stakeholders including business, civil society, UN agencies and other international organizations to identify and share the best pathways to achieve sustainable development.
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This initiative is part of the work undertaken in response to the mandate on post-2015 and the outcome of UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), which took place in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, in June.
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The Solutions Network will be directed by Professor Jeffrey D. Sachs, director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University and Special Advisor to Secretary-General Ban on the global anti-poverty targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It will operate in close coordination with the High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda.
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“The post-2015 objectives will help the world to focus on the vital challenges of sustainable development and the Sustainable Development Solutions Network will be an innovative way to draw upon worldwide expertise in the campuses, universities, scientific research centres and business technology divisions around the world,” Mr. Ban said.
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The High-level Panel will advise on the global development agenda beyond 2015, the target date for achieving the MDGs, and it will hold its first meeting at the end of September, in the margins of the annual high-level debate of the General Assembly.
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It is expected to submit its findings to the Secretary-General in the first half of 2013, and those findings will inform his report to Member States.
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