Former Chilean president Bachelet to head new UN Women's agency
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has appointed former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet to head United Nations Women (UN Women), a newly created entity to oversee all of the world body's programs aimed at promoting women's rights and full participation in global affairs.
 The new body - which will become operational next January - will merge four UN agencies and offices: the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues, and the UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (UN-INSTRAW).
"UN Women will promote the interests of women and girls across the globe," Mr. Ban told reporters in announcing the appointment. "Ms. Bachelet brings to this critical position a history of dynamic global leadership, highly honed political skills and uncommon ability to create consensus and focus among UN agencies and many partners in both the public and private sector."
Ms. Bachelet, Chile's first female president who prioritized women's issues throughout her tenure and since leaving office has been working with UNIFEM to advocate for the needs of Haitian women following January's devastating earthquake, was chosen over two other candidates.
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Anti-poverty goals are ambitious but achievable, Secretary-General stresses ahead of MDG summit
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are formidable and ambitious but still achievable, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said as he urged the world's leaders to direct their countries' resources to the areas where they are needed most in the fight against poverty, hunger and disease.
 In a call to action a week before nearly 140 heads of state and government are expected to gather at United Nations Headquarters in New York for a summit measuring progress on the MDGs, Mr. Ban told journalists on September 13 that it is clear that the targets can be achieved by their 2015 deadline with the right amount of will and effort.
"The MDGs are difficult and ambitious, but doable," he said. "Many poor countries have made enormous progress. The world as a whole is on track to reduce poverty by half by 2015 - a tremendous achievement."
The three-day summit on the MDGs commences in New York next Monday and is expected to attract not only heads of state and governments but dozens of representatives from civil society groups, foundations and the private sector.
Photo: Pictured with Secretary-General Ban are his Spokesperson, Martin Nesirky (right), and Thomas Stelzer, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs (left).
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Haiti: Secretary-General calls for credible and legitimate elections
Eight months after the catastrophic earthquake, Haiti has fended off a second-wave disaster of epidemics and unrest, but the impoverished nation's political, social and economic situation will remain fragile, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says in a new report.
 "It is to the great credit of the Haitian people that large-scale disturbances have so far been avoided despite the extremely harsh and precarious conditions of so many," he writes in the report to the Security Council made public September 8.
The Secretary-General cautions that the potential for social unrest exists, underscoring that debris removal and advancing reconstruction efforts is imperative.
"Haiti is now entering a period of change which will be critical to its future stability. The most immediate challenge, besides reconstruction, is the organization of presidential and legislative elections," he notes.
The Haitian government estimates that 1.3 million people are still uprooted following the devastating January earthquake. It is estimated that hundreds of thousands will still be in camps or improvised shelters over the coming year.
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Number of world's hungry dips below 1 billion
Although the number of hungry people in the world has fallen below 1 billion thanks to renewed economic growth, it remains "unacceptably" high, two United Nations agencies stressed.
 The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) announced in a new report that 925 million people will suffer chronic hunger, down nearly 100 million from 1.02 billion in 2009.
"But with a child dying every six seconds because of undernourishment-related problems, hunger remains the world's largest tragedy and scandal," said FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf.
FAO and the World Food Programme (WFP) warned that the continued high level of global hunger hampers the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the eight globally-agreed anti-poverty targets with a 2015 deadline.
Additionally, recent increases in food prices, if they persist, could further impede efforts to curb the number of hungry people in the world.
Next week, world leaders will gather at UN Headquarters in New York to assess progress made in achieving the MDGs.
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Week in Pictures
Preparations for Afghan Parliamentary Elections
September 13, 2010 - Almost 13,000 boxes of packed polling materials have been delivered to the provinces in time for the September 18 parliamentary elections. Preparations are on track for the 2010 Wolesi Jirga elections run by Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission (IEC) with technical and logistical support from the UNDP, in response to the request by the government.
UN Photo: Fardin Waezi / UNAMA
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