“The one international language the world understands” wrote Eglantyne Jebb, founder of Save the Children, “is the cry of a child,” and the evidence is accumulating that children are not only the innocent victims of conflict whose pleas need to be heard, but also the most vulnerable victims of climate change.   The climate crisis is an education crisis. Right here, right now, climate change is robbing millions of children and adolescents of their right to learn, their right to play and their right to feel safe and secure. In Pakistan deadly floods destroyed or damaged over 26,000 schools last year. This exposed over 600,000 adolescent girls to higher risks of school dropout, gender-based violence, and child marriage. In Ethiopia, girls like Mellion are going hungry and risk dropping out of school forever as a result of the ongoing drought. While the climate crisis threatens the rights of every person on the planet, those who are enduring the brunt of its impact are the most vulnerable girls and boys already living in protracted crises settings due to armed conflicts, forced displacement and other crises. For them and their communities, climate change is already a daunting reality that can mean the difference between life and death, between war and peace, between the chance to learn or not. Today, there are more than 224 million crisis-impacted children worldwide who urgently need education support. New analysis by Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, hosted by UNICEF, has found that 62 million of these children have been impacted by climate hazards such as droughts, floods, cyclones and other extreme weather events since 2020. That’s close to the total populations of several G7 nations such as the United Kingdom, France or Italy. While these children have contributed least to the issue of climate change, they have the most to lose. Furthermore, over the last ten years, 31 million school-aged children have been displaced by the climate crisis, with 13 million in the last three years alone. The climate crisis poses a real and present threat to global security, economic prosperity and the very fabric of our societies. Climate impacts could cost the world economy US$7.9 trillion by 2050, according to the World Bank, and could force up to 216 million people to move within their own countries by 2050. Cyclones, typhoons, floods and droughts are increasing in severity and intensity. The number of disasters driven, in part, by climate change has increased five-fold in the past 50 years. Climate hazards are driving displacement directly, but also driving competition over scarce resources and threatening fragile peace in many parts of the world. Over 70% of refugees and internally displaced people on the move due to conflict and violence originally came from climate change hotspots.  Taken together, these intersecting crises of climate change, displacement and conflict are having a profound effect on education opportunities for millions of children and adolescents around the world.   As we look toward this year’s Climate Talks in Dubai (COP28) and the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, we must connect the dots between climate action and education action. It’s our investment in our people, our planet and our future. To rise to this challenge, ECW is calling on donors, the private sector and other key partners to urgently mobilize US$150 million in additional resources. This is an important contribution towards ECW’s overall resource mobilization target of US$1.5 billion toward the Fund’s 2023-2026 strategic plan. We all know that education has a sound return on investment. Long-term investments in human capital – including education, skills training and overall health and well-being – offer 10 times more return on investment than investments in physical capital. By investing in education today, we are investing in economic and social prosperity tomorrow, we are investing in an end to displacement and hunger, we are investing in a better world and children’s futures. The climate crisis threatens to end human civilization as we know it today. Now is our time to address this issue head on, and education plays a key role. By ensuring learning continuity for the most vulnerable children – and connecting quality education with climate action – we can equip an entire generation of climate stewards with the skills to adapt to the changing environment and pave the way to a better future. In the eye of the storm, we are calling on new and existing donors to stand with us. We are appealing to you to act: right here, right now. Will you take up this challenge?   About the Authors The Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown is the UN Special Envoy for Global Education and Chair of the Education Cannot Wait High-Level Steering Group. Yasmine Sherif is the Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait, the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises.

The five Joint UN-Government RGs convened in UN House were:      RG 1. People-centered Governance and Rule of Law      RG 2. Sustainable economic diversification, competitive private and financial sectors, enhanced trade and promotion      RG 3. Disaster Risk Reduction, Climate change adaptation and increased resilience        RG 4. Quality, inclusive affordable health and social protection services      RG 5. Quality, inclusive and affordable education and skilling systems The participants of each Joint Results Group representing the UN Agencies and line ministries under UNSDCF reported on the progress made in implementation of the Joint Work Plans (JWPs) for 2023. They also discussed the challenges faced in the implementation of JWPs and further cooperation opportunities. During the meeting, the meeting participants were briefed about the key findings and recommendations from the Mid-term review (MTR) on the implementation of the UNSDCF. The Government counterparts and UN agencies agreed to take into consideration the results of the MTR when developing further JWPs and formulation of the next cycle of UNSDCF for 2026-2030. Also, in the course of the meeting, the analysis of the UNSDCF implementation focusing on progress towards Sustainable Development Goals and outcome indicators for 2023 was presented. The members of the UN-Government Results Groups discussed the findings of the Common Country Analysis update. The analysis has demonstrated the relevance of joint UN programmes’ proposals submitted to the government aimed at increasing the likelihood of achieving UNSDCF results in the areas of strategic planning, budgeting and SDG financing, including the development of human capital, increasing the efficiency of employment services and labor market regulation, especially in relation to youth. The participants agreed that further joint efforts are needed to strengthen capacity of civil servants, improve data availability and use for policy making, develop and implement industrial policy, including in the area of green energy transition. The discussed priorities are fully aligned with Turkmenistan’s Strategies and Programmes and the National Commitments to SDG Transformation presented at the SDG summit. The Joint UN-Turkmenistan Results Groups meeting represents a crucial step in the collaborative efforts towards achieving sustainable development goals, fostering partnerships, and ensuring the well-being and prosperity of the Turkmenistan population.

The training participants reviewed issues relating to strengthening the capacity of relevant stakeholders in systemic integration and use of gender-sensitive approaches in the porcess of development of migration-related public policies and national action plans, as well as relevant methodologies, monitoring and reporting tools for gender and human rights mainstreaming, gender stereotypes and  overcoming gender bias, assessing gender results, incorporating gender-sensitive indicators in labour migration, data collection and use.  “The topic of training is very important, as it helps to understand the critical issues of gender sensitivity in labor migration, aspects of impact of changes in the social, economic sphere, as well as in the legislative documents. It is advisable to include this course in the training program for public associations, community leaders in the regions,” Leila Toilieva from “Ynamly Egindesh” public association said.  The training participants also familiarized themselves with the factors of vulnerability and needs of families and children affected by migration that should be taken into consideration in developing mechanisms to support persons affected by migration and ensuring their security in migration processes. On the outcomes of training, the participants developed a “road map” for implementation of the acquired knowledge and skills. This training was organized as part of the IOM regional project “Protection of Vulnerable Migrants with Special Emphasis on Empowering Women in the Context of Migration in Central Asia” funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.   IOM contact person in Turkmenistan: Nargiza Davletova, NGO Coordinator Phone: +99312 48-84-07, email: ndavletova@iom.int

This campaign is supported by new evidence from “The Global Tobacco Industry Interference Index 2023”, published by STOP and the Global Center for Good Governance in Tobacco Control, which shows that efforts to protect health policy from increased tobacco industry interference have deteriorated around the world. ​​WHO’s campaign aims to amplify youth voices, expose tobacco industry tactics and increase public awareness on the need to defend health policies and protect the health of future generations. Youth groups around the world called on countries to “...adopt decisions that shield us from the manipulative practices of tobacco and related industries.” “WHO stands with young people globally who have demanded governments protect them against a deadly industry that targets them with new harmful products while outright lying about the health impacts. We call on all countries to safeguard health policies from this deadly industry by not letting them have a seat at the policy-making table,” said Dr Ruediger Krech, Director of Health Promotion, WHO. The tobacco industry tries to interfere with countries’ right to protect people’s health by taking governments to court, or offering financial and in-kind incentives to be able to influence tobacco control policies, even at the upcoming WHO FCTC Conference of Parties. WHO supports countries in defending evidenced based tobacco control measures in the face of industry interference. The tobacco industry continues to lie to the public, using different ways to spread misinformation, including through: Front groups and third parties Social media influencers Sponsored events Funding scientists and biased research Supporting corporate social responsibility initiatives Recognizing the tobacco industry’s relentless efforts to market its products to vulnerable groups, especially young people, WHO is committed to expose the industry's attempts to weaken health policies and call on policy makers to stand firm against tobacco industry influence. There are 183 Parties to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control that have committed to do this under the global health treaty.   The tobacco industry has a long history of lying to the public, even insisting that smoking does not cause lung cancer. Today we know that tobacco causes 25% of all cancers and kills over 8 million people each year, but the industry persists with marketing what they call ‘new’ and ‘safer’ products that we know are harmful to health, while still producing trillions of cigarettes each year. With half of smokers dying prematurely because of tobacco smoking, the maintenance of the tobacco and nicotine market relies heavily on recruiting new, young users, and tobacco companies employ multiple tactics to gain the trust and interest of young people at an early age. Menthol and flavoured cigarettes and candy-flavored e-cigarettes with eye-catching designs have further contributed to the popularization of these products among the young generation, all while leaving many consumers largely unaware of the negative effects on their health. The tobacco industry invests enormous amounts of money in lobbying against tobacco control policies and funds organizations that promote its interests. These tobacco tactics, when left unchecked, inflict immeasurable harm on public health. Moreover, the production and use of tobacco and nicotine products have a cascading damaging effect on other critical issues such as the environment, mental health, and child labor.\