COVAX

Black smoke rises from a chimney at a brick kiln, which uses coal fire to bake bricks, in eastern Bangladesh.
UNICEF/Shehzad Noorani

News in Brief 2 March 2021

2 March 2021
News in Brief
  • We must end ‘deadly addiction’ to coal for planet’s sake, urges Guterres 
  • Equitable vaccine delivery plan needs more support to succeed: COVAX partners 
  • One in four people projected to have hearing problems by 2050 
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2'52"
The AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine is being manufactured under licence in India.
© UNICEF/Dhiraj Singh

Equitable vaccine delivery plan needs more support to succeed: COVAX partners

2 March 2021
Health

The equitable coronavirus vaccine delivery initiative COVAX that has delivered its first doses to West Africa and Latin America in the past few days, is a credit to international solidarity, but potential obstacles must be overcome if a fully global rollout is to be achieved, UN health agency chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Tuesday.

A health worker in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, becomes one of the first people to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as part of the global rollout of COVAX in Africa.
© UNICEF/Milequem Diarassouba

‘We sink or we swim together’: 5 things you need to know about COVAX

1 March 2021
Health

COVAX has been trending in stories about the COVID-19 pandemic in recent days, particularly in relation to the shipment of vaccines to Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, the first to arrive in Africa. Here’s a UN News recap of what COVAX is, and why it is so important.

Staff unload the first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines distributed by COVAX at Kotoka International Airport in Accra, Ghana's capital.
© UNICEF/Francis Kokoroko/COVAX

News in Brief 24 February 2021

24 February 2021
News in Brief
  • Historic first as COVAX COVID vaccines reach Ghana
  • WHO announces COVID deaths drop 20% in a week worldwide 
  • Get with new tech, or risk falling further behind: UNCTAD
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3'11"
A mother and a doctor tend a girl with COVID-19 at an intensive care ward, in Chernivtsi, Ukraine.
© UNICEF/Evgeniy Maloletka

‘Constellation’ of post-COVID symptoms will impact global healthcare, says WHO 

12 February 2021
Health

Far more research is needed into the “constellation” of sometimes debilitating symptoms among people who’ve recovered from COVID-19, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday, adding that it “will impact” global health systems. 

The candidate vaccine being developed at Oxford University in the UK is part of the COVAX initiative.
University of Oxford/John Cairns

Healthier world means ‘safer America’ Tedros stresses, as UN-led vaccine initiative announces deal for 40 million doses 

22 January 2021
Health

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday announced the signing of an advance purchase agreement securing up to 40 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine, under the UN-led COVAX equitable vaccine supply programme. 

Restoring natural habitats as pictured here in Cuba will help to slow down climate change
UNDP

News in Brief 21 January 2021

21 January 2021
News in Brief
  • US commitment to rejoin key climate deal welcomed by UN’s Guterres
  • US plans to re-engage with World Health Organization  
  • Top US medical adviser announces intention to resume major role in global health
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2'59"