World trade, environmental restoration, tuberculosis, indigenous languages… Tuesday’s news

The level of world trade will reach a record figure of 32 trillion dollars in 2022, according to the latest update of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

The latest update of the body on world trade highlights that the exchange of goods will amount to 25 trillion dollars, while that of services will grow to 7 trillion, an increase of around 15% since 2021.

These record figures come after the strong growth recorded in the first half of 2022, while trade growth moderated in the second half of the year.

Trade in goods decreased by about 1% between the first and second quarters of 2022, and trade in services increased by about 1.3% over the same period.

The current forecasts of the Conference indicate that during the fourth quarter of 2022 the value of world trade will decrease, both in the case of goods and in services.

Among the negative factors, the study forecasts lower economic growth for 2023 due to high electricity prices, rising interest rates, sustained inflation in many economies, and the negative global economic effects stemming from the war in Ukraine.

On the positive side, it stands out that ports and shipping companies have already adapted to the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. Freight and cargo rates are still higher than their pre-pandemic averages, but are trending downward.

The Program of the United Nations for the Environment today awarded ten innovative initiatives spread across the globe in recognition of their vital work in restoring nature.

The ten projects was presented within the framework of the UN Conference on Biological Diversity (COP15) that is held in the Canadian city of Montreal.

The common goal of the ten proposals is to restore more than 68 million hectares of degraded areas, an area larger than the entire territory of Myanmar, France or Somalia, as well as create 15 million jobs.

Among the award-winning initiatives in Latin America, the Trinational Atlantic Forest Pact in which hundreds of organizations actively participate in efforts to protect and restore forests in Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.

To date, 700,000 hectares of the million hectares established as a goal for 2030 have been restored and with a view to the second goal of 2050 that set a total of 15 million hectares.

Also awarded were the ecosystems and human populations that inhabit the Central American Dry Corridor, which are especially vulnerable to climate change due to their exposure to unpredictable rainfall and heat waves.

The goal of the initiative is to have 100,000 hectares under restoration by 2030 and create 5,000 permanent jobs.

Investing in TB vaccines has benefits for the economy and health

A new document commissioned by the World Health Organization predicts that investment in new TB vaccines will yield large health and economic benefits.

The report highlights that focusing on TB vaccines that meet the agency’s recommended product characteristics could significantly reduce disease incidence and mortality, improve antimicrobial stewardship and health equity, and boost economic growth.

The document predicts that a vaccine for adolescents and adults would have a greater and more immediate impact than an immunization for children.

If the vaccine were to achieve 50% efficacy in preventing tuberculosis, it would prevent between 37.2 and 76 million adolescents and adults from becoming ill and between 4.6 and 8.5 million deaths between 2025 and 2050 .

Tuberculosis is one of the main causes of infectious mortality in the world. In 2021, 1.6 million people died from this disease and 10.6 million fell ill. Despite being an urgent challenge for global health, no new vaccine against the disease has been licensed for more than 100 years.

UNESCO launches the International Decade of Indigenous Languages

The headquarters of the Unesco in Paris hosts this Tuesday a high-level Celebration of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages

The event is primarily addressed to high-level representatives of UNESCO Member States, indigenous leaders, the UN system, national civil society research organizations, and representatives of the public and private sectors.

The meeting marks the beginning of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages ​​and seeks to sensitize mainly the holders of obligations on the situation of indigenous languages ​​throughout the world.

In the same way, it will promote international cooperation, the exchange of experiences and the creation of associations for the preservation of indigenous languages ​​and will reflect on the immediate actions to be taken to implement the Global Action Plan for the International Decade of Indigenous Languages.