COVAX

An Afghan refugee is vaccinated against COVID-19 in Rawalpindi in Pakistan.
© UNHCR/Asif Shahzad

Refugees face dire consequences from COVID-19 underfunding, UNHCR warns 

17 September 2021
Migrants and Refugees

Underfunding has left a “yawning gap” in the UN Refugee Agency’s ability to protect forcibly displaced people worldwide from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UNHCR said on Friday. 

The Republic of Congo received just over 300,000 doses of the COVID vaccines through the COVAX Facility in August 2021.
© UNICEF/Aimable Twiringiyima

Africa faces 470 million COVID-19 vaccine shortfall this year 

16 September 2021
Health

Africa needs around 470 million doses to accomplish the global of fully vaccinating 40 per cent of its population by the end of the year, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.  

Patients wait for their COVID-19 vaccination at a health centre in Kabale District, Uganda.
© UNICEF/Catherine Ntabadde

Only 2% of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in Africa 

14 September 2021
Health

More than 5.7 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered globally, but only 2% of them in Africa, said World Health Organization (WHO) chief, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Tuesday. 

A health worker in Mali prepares one of 396,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses supplied to the West African country through the COVAX Facility.
© UNICEF/Seyba Keïta

COVID-19: ‘Unacceptable’ deals and delays, hampering lifesaving COVAX deliveries 

8 September 2021
Health

While 80 per cent of citizens in high and upper-middle income nations have had a dose of COVID-19 vaccine, that figure stands at just 20 per cent for those living below the top tiers, according to a joint statement issued by UN and partner agencies, responsible for the multilateral COVAX initiative to provide equal access for all. 

A UN staff member in Benin receives the COVID-19 vaccine in the capital Cotonou.
UNICEF/Yannick Folly

COVID-19 vaccine shipments boost for Africa 

29 July 2021
Health

After a near-halt of COVID-19 vaccine shipments in Africa, delivers have ramped up in recent months, the UN health agency said on Thursday. 

Dateline Geneva Podcast (Cover)
United Nations

UN Catch-Up Dateline Geneva – Deal to end plastic waste, COVID vaccines in Africa, sustainable food call

29 July 2021
UN Catch-Up Dateline Geneva

In this week’s show, a global deal to help get rid of plastic waste that’s been signed by 180 countries; a call for a “COVID ceasefire” in Myanmar, how more efficient food production could help solve a global hunger crisis and positive coronavirus vaccine developments in Africa.

Audio -
14'35"
A COVID-19 walk-in drive-through testing site in Ogun state, southwestern Nigeria.
WHO

News in Brief 24 June 2021

24 June 2021
News in Brief
  • More countries need to vaccinate 82.4 million on the move: UNHCR
  • Africa's third-wave of COVID can be pushed back - WHO regional head
  • Torture rehabilitation must be a universal right, urges UN expert
Audio -
3'32"
Protestors calling for democracy in Myanmar.
Unsplash/Gayatri Malhotra

News in Brief 9 June 2021

9 June 2021
News in Brief
  • 'Mass deaths' alert across Myanmar: UN rights expert
  • 'Alarming' rise in antibiotic-resistant pathogens: WHO
  • G7 nations must promote more equitable COVID vaccine access
Audio -
3'
COVID-19 patients receive oxygen at a place of worship in Ghaziabad, India.
© UNICEF/Amarjeet Singh

UN chief appeals to business leaders to help quell ‘a tsunami of suffering’ caused by COVID 

27 May 2021
Health

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought “a tsunami of suffering”, taken over 3.4 million lives and 500 million jobs, while wiping trillions of dollars from global balance sheets, Secretary-General António Guterres told business leaders on Thursday, appealing for equitable vaccine distribution worldwide. 

Ap Reiki, a local leader shows the V for vaccinated sign after receiving the COVID-19 vaccine in Dagana district, Bhutan.
© UNICEF Bhutan/Tshering

Share excess COVID-19 vaccines now, UNICEF chief says ahead of G7 summit

16 May 2021
Health

The deadly increase in COVID-19 cases  in India could potentially occur elsewhere if vulnerable countries do not have access to vaccines, the head of the UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, warned on Monday in a bid to get richer nations to share their excess doses.