Nations must start weighing up the cost of economic profit against damage to the environment if they are to have a chance at a sustainable future, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday. 

Developing countries must embrace ground-breaking technologies that have been a critical tool in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic, or else face even greater inequalities than before, UN economic development  experts at UNCTAD said on Thursday.

In Cambodia, the shrinking economy, hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, has affected all population groups, but particularly the most vulnerable. A first-of-its-kind government scheme, managed with digital tools supplied by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), is ensuring that the poorest receive a level of social protection.

As coronavirus vaccines provide a glimmer of optimism around the world, a high-level UN official said on Monday that it was “painful to witness” the dashed hopes of most people in the Global South who have little chance of receiving an inoculation anytime soon.