Gender alert: Food security risks of the Middle East escalation for women and girls Publication year 2026

Gender alert: Food security risks of the Middle East escalation for women and girls Publication year 2026 https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2026/10/gender-alert-food-security-risks-of-the-middle-east-escalation-for-women-and-girls This publication explores the impact of the escalation in the Middle East and disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz on food security risks for women and girls. Based on analysis of data from 28 countries, UN Women estimated that an additional 11.7 million women and girls could face food insecurity by the end of 2026 as the escalation and disruptions drive up food, energy, fertilizer, and transport costs. Across the 28 countries analyzed, women and girls account for 53 per cent of the projected 22 million additional people who could face food insecurity by the end of the year. These scenario-based estimates and come on top of an estimated 208 million women and girls already facing food insecurity across the countries analyzed. The gender alert emphasizes the need for an integrated response to rising food insecurity that meets the needs of women and girls through food and cash assistance, nutrition, protection, livelihoods, and agricultural support. It calls for strengthening women’s access to land, credit, essential services, and other productive assets that can help households withstand food-price shocks and protect livelihoods. The publication also emphasizes the importance of targeting resources to countries and communities where women and girls face multiple, overlapping risks and delivering support at the right time, including ahead of key agricultural seasons. Timely assistance can help protect food access, livelihoods, and resilience as rising food prices and input costs place additional strain on households. Better gender data are critical to identifying where food insecurity is worsening and how women and girls are being affected. This includes understanding who is eating less, losing income or livelihoods, taking on additional unpaid care work, or facing heightened nutrition and protection risks within households. Together, these measures can help governments, humanitarian actors, and development partners strengthen food security responses that address the distinct needs of women and girls and ensure assistance reaches those facing the greatest risks.

Urban adaptation for gender equality and social justice Publication year 2026

Urban adaptation for gender equality and social justice Publication year 2026 https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2026/10/discussion-paper-urban-adaptation-for-gender-equality-and-social-justice This background paper, prepared for Progress of the World’s Women 2026, examines whether current approaches to urban climate adaptation are advancing gender equality and social justice. The authors draw on evidence from the 2023 Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) database covering 910 cities, a rapid review of peer-reviewed literature across 23 cities, and six illustrative case studies, including Barcelona’s feminist Superblocks, Manizales’ Guardians of the Hillside programme, and Shenzhen’s Sponge City initiative. Guided by a feminist climate justice framework, the analysis assesses progress across the three dimensions of recognition, representation, and redistribution. The findings suggest that, while urban adaptation efforts are expanding, they remain insufficiently responsive to gender equality objectives. The paper warns against the growing risk of a “feminization of responsibility”, whereby the burden of urban climate adaptation is shifted onto the unpaid labour and voluntary efforts of women and marginalized groups. It also highlights seven interconnected and actionable levers for change, spanning policy, multilevel governance, institutional capacity, collective action, behavioural change, finance, and technology, which are critical for scaling effective and gender-responsive adaptation. Following peer review, the paper will be published in the UN Women Discussion Paper Series.

Transforming care systems for equality and shared prosperity: TransformCare 2025 annual report Publication year 2026

Transforming care systems for equality and shared prosperity: TransformCare 2025 annual report Publication year 2026 https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2026/10/transformcare-2025-annual-report Care work is essential to the well-being of people, societies, and economies, yet unpaid care work remains largely unrecognized and unequally distributed, while paid care work is often undervalued and underpaid. Women and girls continue to undertake a disproportionate share of unpaid care work, limiting their opportunities to participate in education, employment, and public life. This report presents the 2025 results of UN Women’s TransformCare Global Initiative. Through TransformCare, UN Women is advancing a vision of care as central to thriving, sustainable, and just economies; societies in which care is valued as a public good, recognized as skilled and essential work, and understood as the foundation of equality and shared economic prosperity. TransformCare operates in more than 50 countries across six regions.

Care, climate and a just transition: Guidance note for UN Women and partners Publication year 2026 Author(s)/editor(s) Laura Cooper-Hall

Care, climate and a just transition: Guidance note for UN Women and partners Publication year 2026 Author(s)/editor(s) Laura Cooper-Hall https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2026/10/care-climate-and-a-just-transition-guidance-note-for-un-women-and-partners Climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental degradation are increasing the demand for care while simultaneously weakening the systems that provide it. These impacts are felt most acutely by women and girls – who continue to provide the majority of unpaid care work and are heavily represented in paid care sectors – especially those in low-income households and rural communities in the Global South.

Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The gender snapshot 2026

Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals: The gender snapshot 2026 September 17, 2026 When women lead and power is shared, all SDGs advance. Yet equal representation remains out of reach, and hard-won gains are at risk as funding falls, civic spaces narrow, and violence against women in politics rises. Read the Gender Snapshot for the latest data on progress towards gender equality. https://www.unwomen.org/en/publications

We are the global champion for women’s rights Copyright © UN Women

We are the global champion for women’s rights As the lead United Nations entity on gender equality, UN Women shifts laws, institutions, social norms, and services to close the gender gap and build an equal world for all women and girls. https://www.unwomen.org/en Copyright © UN Women

Nearly 50,000 Women and Girls Killed or Severely Injured in Gaza in Three Years of War – One in 21 Gazan Women and Girls By UN Women Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. - (+++)

Nearly 50,000 Women and Girls Killed or Severely Injured in Gaza in Three Years of War – One in 21 Gazan Women and Girls By UN Women https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/10/nearly-50000-women-and-girls-killed-or-severely-injured-in-gaza-in-three-years-of-war-one-in-21-gazan-women-and-girls/ UNITED NATIONS, Oct 9 2026 (IPS) - Since October 2023, 50,000 women and girls in Gaza have been killed or seriously injured. • UN Women estimates that nearly 50,000 women and girls in Gaza have been killed or severely injured since the onset of war in October 2023 [1], amounting to one in 21 Gazan women and girls losing their life or living with lifelong disabilities [2]. • More than 38,000 women and girls have been killed and 11,700 severely injured, the result of Israeli airstrikes and land military operations. • While most of the casualties recorded took place during the first two years of the war, women and girls continue to be targeted despite a ceasefire agreement entering into effect in October 2025. Two hundred seventy-seven women and girls are among those who have been killed in Gaza over the past year. Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. - English Arabic Advocacy brief: The cost of war in Gaza on women and girls Publication year 2026 https://www.unwomen.org/en/digital-library/publications/2026/04/advocacy-brief-the-cost-of-war-in-gaza-on-women-and-girls The war in Gaza has created an extreme humanitarian crisis, with civilians facing death, displacement, hunger, and the collapse of essential services. Women and girls have been particularly affected, experiencing both direct violence and heightened risks linked to displacement, poverty, and limited access to healthcare and education. This advocacy brief examines how the war has impacted women and girls since October 2023. It draws on recent data and analysis to track patterns of violence, displacement, and service breakdowns, with a focus on how these experiences differ for women and girls over time. The report highlights both the scale of harm and the gaps in available data, especially around injuries and long-term effects. Women head one in four households in Gaza as war tears families apart and reshapes household structures Despite the October 2025 ceasefire, six women and girls are among those killed every week in Gaza since October 2025. https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/press-release/2026/09/women-head-one-in-four-households-in-gaza-as-war-tears-families-apart-and-reshapes-household-structures

Climate Change Is Becoming a Pregnancy Hazard Worldwide, Survey Finds By Umar Manzoor Shah Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. -

Climate Change Is Becoming a Pregnancy Hazard Worldwide, Survey Finds By Umar Manzoor Shah SUVA, Fiji & SRINAGAR, India, Oct 5 2026 (IPS) - Extreme heat is increasingly threatening pregnant women and newborn babies around the world, with almost all maternal health professionals surveyed across five continents saying they have cared for women or infants whose health was affected by high temperatures. The findings, released as climate ministers gathered in the Pacific ahead of the COP31 climate summit, provide an extremely distressing picture of how global heating is affecting maternity wards, delivery rooms and newborn-care units. https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/10/climate-change-is-becoming-a-pregnancy-hazard-worldwide-survey-finds/?utm_source=email_marketing&utm_admin=146128&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Workers_Help_Feed_the_World_but_Starved_of_Dignity_Climate_Change_Is_Becoming_a_Pregnancy_Hazard_Wor Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. -

Sweden’s Far Right Falters By Andrew Firmin Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. -

Sweden’s Far Right Falters By Andrew Firmin LONDON, Oct 5 2026 (IPS) - Four years ago, Sweden’s far right became the power behind a right-wing government. This time, it expected further gains and cabinet seats. But voters turned against it. In the 13 September general election, support for the far-right Sweden Democrats fell for the for the first time in the party’s history. Four days later, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson resigned, leaving the way clear for the centre-left Social Democrats to negotiate a coalition. But the Sweden Democrats’ defeat will prove hollow if the next government maintains the hostility towards migrants that has come to characterise Sweden’s politics. https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/10/swedens-far-right-falters/?utm_source=email_marketing&utm_admin=146128&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Workers_Help_Feed_the_World_but_Starved_of_Dignity_Climate_Change_Is_Becoming_a_Pregnancy_Hazard_Wor Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. -

Austerity and Privatization Weakened OECD Education Systems By Isabel Ortiz and Antonia Wulff Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. - (+++)

Austerity and Privatization Weakened OECD Education Systems By Isabel Ortiz and Antonia Wulff Decline blamed on AI and social media but was triggered much earlier by austerity reforms and budget cuts. BRUSSELS / GENEVA, Oct 5 2026 (IPS) - The results of the OECD PISA 2025 report point to the marked deterioration of results in countries whose education systems were once considered exemplary. PISA assesses how students aged 15 apply skills in reading, mathematics, and science to real-life situations, and the latest report contains the lowest averages ever measured in all three subjects across the OECD (as illustrated in the graph above). Public debate has rushed to blame the use of AI and social media, but the deterioration long predates them. In many countries, this decline has unfolded alongside years of austerity cuts and growing pressures on public education systems, including public spending, teacher pay and working conditions, staffing and the capacity of schools to provide quality education. https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/10/austerity-and-privatization-weakened-oecd-education-systems/?utm_source=email_marketing&utm_admin=146128&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Workers_Help_Feed_the_World_but_Starved_of_Dignity_Climate_Change_Is_Becoming_a_Pregnancy_Hazard_Wor Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. - PISA 2025 Results (Volume I) Future-Ready Students https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/pisa-2025-results-volume-i_73451bc5-en.html End Austerity: A Global Report on Budget Cuts and Harmful Social Reforms in 2022-25 https://publicservices.international/resources/publications/end-austerity-a-global-report-on-budget-cuts-and-harmful-social-reforms-in-2022-25?id=13501&lang=en

The Late Arrivals By James Alix Michel Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. -

The Late Arrivals By James Alix Michel A reflection on kinship, memory, and what the Earth has always been trying to tell us. VICTORIA, Seychelles, Oct 6 2026 (IPS) - One night, many years ago now, on a remote beach in the outer islands of Seychelles, I sat in the darkness and watched a green turtle come ashore. She had waited for the heat of the day to leave the sand. Under a sky crowded with stars, she hauled herself slowly above the tideline, dug with a patience no human hand could match, and laid her eggs. Then, in the small hours, she turned back toward the water. She did not hurry. She paused once, as though listening, and then made her slow, unhesitating way down the sand, back to a home older than any I could imagine. https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/10/the-late-arrivals/?utm_source=email_marketing&utm_admin=146128&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Workers_Help_Feed_the_World_but_Starved_of_Dignity_Climate_Change_Is_Becoming_a_Pregnancy_Hazard_Wor Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. -

Workers Help Feed the World but Starved of Dignity By Busani Bafana Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. - (++)

Workers Help Feed the World but Starved of Dignity By Busani Bafana BULAWAYO, Oct 6 2026 (IPS) - A new report reveals widespread labour exploitation among food system workers, warning that keeping the world fed comes at the cost of human dignity. More than 1.4 billion people work in the food industry – the largest employer in the world – and are the most abused, according to a report, Food Work: The workers behind our food and the exploitation they face, published this week by the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food). https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/10/workers-helping-feed-the-world-but-starved-of-dignity/?utm_source=email_marketing&utm_admin=146128&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Workers_Help_Feed_the_World_but_Starved_of_Dignity_Climate_Change_Is_Becoming_a_Pregnancy_Hazard_Wor Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. - Food Work The workers behind our food and the exploitation they face https://ipes-food.org/report/food-work/ The people who feed us are among the most exploited workers in the world. Nearly 1.4 billion people work in food systems – two out of every five workers worldwide – the world’s largest workforce. Yet food systems also exploit more workers than any other sector – with widespread low pay, wage theft, forced and child labour, informal employment, discrimination, dangerous working conditions, and exclusion from basic labour protections.

Dementia: A Rapidly Rising Global Challenge By Joseph Chamie Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. - (+++++)

Dementia: A Rapidly Rising Global Challenge By Joseph Chamie PORTLAND, USA, Oct 6 2026 (IPS) - Dementia is a rapidly growing global health challenge that affects many millions of people worldwide and places significant economic, healthcare, and social strains on societies, particularly as populations age. Families, community organizations, and governments face growing difficulties in providing adequate care and support for older adults living with dementia. https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/10/dementia-a-rapidly-rising-global-challenge/?utm_source=email_marketing&utm_admin=146128&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Workers_Help_Feed_the_World_but_Starved_of_Dignity_Climate_Change_Is_Becoming_a_Pregnancy_Hazard_Wor Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. - The Global Problem Dementia is rapidly increasing around the world. https://www.gbhi.org/global-problem Changing Age Distributions of Populations By Joseph Chamie https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/07/changing-age-distributions-of-populations/ The top 10 causes of death https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/the-top-10-causes-of-death Care for the Elderly By Joseph Chamie https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/04/care-for-the-elderly/

Prioritize Multilateralism to Resolve Iran War Deepening Humanitarian Crisis, Says OSF Vice President By Oritro Karim Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. - (+++)

Prioritize Multilateralism to Resolve Iran War Deepening Humanitarian Crisis, Says OSF Vice President By Oritro Karim UNITED NATIONS, Oct 6 2026 (IPS) - Seven months into the Iran War, threats of further military escalation and stalled efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz have heightened fears of worsening humanitarian suffering and wider regional instability. Pedro Abramovay, Vice President of Open Society Foundations (OSF), told IPS that the international community should empower local actors and middle powers to work together toward a peaceful resolution to the conflict. https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/10/prioritize-multilateralism-to-resolve-iran-war-deepening-humanitarian-crisis-says-osf-vice-president/?utm_source=email_marketing&utm_admin=146128&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Workers_Help_Feed_the_World_but_Starved_of_Dignity_Climate_Change_Is_Becoming_a_Pregnancy_Hazard_Wor Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. - The Open Society Foundations work to build vibrant and inclusive democracies whose governments are accountable to their people. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/ https://www.un.org/en/ga/81/

Nigeria’s School Kidnapping Threat Is Changing: Four Lessons from the 56 Day Oyo Attack By Saheed Babajide Owonikoko Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. -

Nigeria’s School Kidnapping Threat Is Changing: Four Lessons from the 56 Day Oyo Attack By Saheed Babajide Owonikoko YOLA, Nigeria, Oct 7 2026 (IPS) - Following the mass abduction of 46 pupils and teachers in Oyo State, south-west Nigeria in 2026, the authorities attributed the attack to the Ansaru terrorist group. Key suspects were prosecuted and handed prison terms. But this was not the first time terrorist groups had engaged in mass abduction of school pupils in Nigeria. Peace and security researcher Saheed Babajide Owonikoko explains what factors could have motivated the Ansaru terror group to stage that attack and what lessons Nigeria should take away from the incident, which lasted 56 days. https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/10/nigerias-school-kidnapping-threat-is-changing-4-lessons-from-the-56-day-oyo-attack/?utm_source=email_marketing&utm_admin=146128&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Workers_Help_Feed_the_World_but_Starved_of_Dignity_Climate_Change_Is_Becoming_a_Pregnancy_Hazard_Wor Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. -

Ukrainian Groups Urge WHO to Act on Torture of Captives by Russian Medical Staff By Ed Holt Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. -

Ukrainian Groups Urge WHO to Act on Torture of Captives by Russian Medical Staff By Ed Holt BRATISLAVA, Oct 7 2026 (IPS) - More than 60 Ukrainian organisations have issued an appeal to the World Health Organisation (WHO) to help stop the torture of Ukrainians held in Russian captivity. Ahead of International Doctors’ Day on October 5, the groups, including the Nobel Peace Prize-winning organisation the Centre for Civil Liberties (CCL), issued an appeal to the WHO, calling on it to draw international attention to systematic violations of the right to medical care for Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) and civilians illegally detained by Russian forces. https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/10/ukrainian-groups-urge-who-to-act-on-torture-of-captives-by-russian-medical-staff/?utm_source=email_marketing&utm_admin=146128&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Workers_Help_Feed_the_World_but_Starved_of_Dignity_Climate_Change_Is_Becoming_a_Pregnancy_Hazard_Wor Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. -

A Rash of Hard-Hitting Questions—Which May Remain Evasive–for Candidates Running for UN Chief By Thalif Deen Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. -

A Rash of Hard-Hitting Questions—Which May Remain Evasive–for Candidates Running for UN Chief By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS, Oct 8 2026 (IPS) - The seven candidates, still in the running for the post of UN Secretary-General (SG), have so far faced a barrage of questions, mostly from delegates and the news media. But some of the more politically-sensitive and heavily-loaded questions, have been avoided — either intentionally or by accident– primarily because the answers could trigger a veto from the P-5. https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/10/a-rash-of-hard-hitting-questions-which-may-remain-evasive-for-candidates-running-for-un-chief/?utm_source=email_marketing&utm_admin=146128&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Workers_Help_Feed_the_World_but_Starved_of_Dignity_Climate_Change_Is_Becoming_a_Pregnancy_Hazard_Wor#google_vignette Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. -

How AI-Powered War Drives the Critical Minerals Race By Oritro Karim Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. - (+++ video)

How AI-Powered War Drives the Critical Minerals Race By Oritro Karim UNITED NATIONS, Oct 8 2026 (IPS) - The demand for critical minerals is accelerating as world powers scramble to stay on top of emerging technologies. Meanwhile, the environment and frontline communities are paying a steep price. Such was the basis of the discussion held by the Oakland Institute on September 30, during their webinar: ‘How War and AI Fuel the Critical Minerals Race‘. The event convened experts and frontline activists to examine how artificial intelligence (AI) drives mineral extraction, transforms war technologies, and affects communities entrenched in protracted conflict. https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/10/how-ai-powered-war-drives-the-critical-minerals-race/?utm_source=email_marketing&utm_admin=146128&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Workers_Help_Feed_the_World_but_Starved_of_Dignity_Climate_Change_Is_Becoming_a_Pregnancy_Hazard_Wor Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. - How War and AI Fuel the Critical Minerals Race – Webinar Recording https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/video/how-war-and-ai-fuel-critical-minerals-race-webinar-recording?utm_campaign=War,%2520AI,%2520Critical%2520Minerals%2520Webinar%2520Recording&utm_medium=email&utm_source=mailjet Rush Global Scramble for Minerals Wages War on People and Planet https://www.oaklandinstitute.org/report/rush?utm_campaign=War,%2520AI,%2520Critical%2520Minerals%2520Webinar%2520Recording&utm_medium=email&utm_source=mailjet

Smartphone Ban Robs Afghan Female Journalists of a Vital Working Tool Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. -

Smartphone Ban Robs Afghan Female Journalists of a Vital Working Tool The author is an Afghanistan-based female journalist, trained with Finnish support before the Taliban take-over. Her identity is withheld for security reasons KABUL, Oct 8 2026 (IPS) - It has become difficult for Afghan journalists to obtain information from the authorities, who are permitted to use smartphones only with special authorization. This ban particularly affects women, for whom face-to-face interviews are not an option. The work of Hadia (name changed), a journalist at a Kabul-based radio station, has become significantly more difficult since the Taliban administration banned the use of smartphones within the Afghan government in June. https://www.ipsnews.net/2026/10/smartphone-ban-robs-afghan-female-journalists-of-a-vital-working-tool/?utm_source=email_marketing&utm_admin=146128&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Workers_Help_Feed_the_World_but_Starved_of_Dignity_Climate_Change_Is_Becoming_a_Pregnancy_Hazard_Wor Copyright © 2026 IPS-Inter Press Service. All rights reserved. -

Iran war could force Israel to postpone election, IDF chief tells US officials Elisha Ben Kimon|16:13 (+++)

Iran war could force Israel to postpone election, IDF chief tells US officials Zamir raised the scenario in talks with senior US officials as the IDF keeps the Israel Air Force and Military Intelligence on heightened readiness and builds new target lists in Iran; Trump says Washington will not strike Iran before the Nov. 3 midterm elections Elisha Ben Kimon Elisha Ben Kimon|16:13 https://www.ynetnews.com/article/r1ybtvboml Netanyahu’s ex-military secretary says PM’s office falsified Oct. 7 records Maj. Gen. (res.) Avi Gil says a stenographer was ordered to change a key call from 6:40 a.m. to 6:29 a.m.; he also says prewar recommendations for strikes in Gaza were rejected and confirms Ronen Bar warned Netanyahu of war in July 2023 ynet|15:58 https://www.ynetnews.com/article/sjnamprjml Three years after Oct. 7, IDF begins long-delayed process to honor battlefield heroism Military begins reviewing acts of bravery and sacrifice from the battles around Gaza border communities, after thousands of recommendations accumulated and repeated attempts to launch the process stalled Elisha Ben Kimon Elisha Ben Kimon|17:11 https://www.ynetnews.com/article/bk53ovsjfe