This is the News in Brief, from the United Nations.

Global disparity in access to essential vaccines, says WHO report

Limited vaccine supply and unequal distribution means that lower-income countries consistently struggle to access essential vaccines that are in demand by wealthier countries, according to the latest Global Vaccine Market Report, released by the World Health Organization (WHO).

This is the first to examine the implications of COVID-19 for vaccine markets. It highlights the disparity in access around the world.

The report says the way the global market works, is not fully conducive to the development, supply and access for essential vaccines, with some regions depending almost entirely on others for vaccine supply.

"The right to health includes the right to vaccines," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, adding that the report “shows that free-market dynamics are depriving some of the world's poorest and most vulnerable people of that right.

WHO is calling for much-needed changes in vaccine distribution “to save lives, prevent disease and prepare for future crises."

Saudi Arabia urged to allow immediate contact with rights defender held incommunicado

There are concerns over the health, and life, of a human rights defender in prison in Saudi Arabia whose family haven’t heard from him since they complained that he was being attacked by other inmates more than two weeks ago.

Mohammad Al-Qahtani is serving a 10-year sentence. Mary Lawlor, the Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders, has called on relevant authorities to inform his family of his whereabouts and current state of health, and to allow his family and lawyers to see him.

She said Wednesday that the use of incommunicado detention is a violation of detainees’ rights under international law and that “such methods put detainees at a heightened risk of being ill-treatment and tortured.”

The UN cookbook that gives fish a voice

And finally, a unique cookbook that infuses mouth-watering recipes from around the world with insights into the global fish trade has been launched by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). 

‘Fish: Know it, cook it, eat it’, blends scientific facts and cultural history with nutritional information and sustainability concerns, as well as including recipes from 45 FAO member countries.

Dishes range from a Korean braised mackerel with radish to Saint Lucia’s national dish of green fig and saltfish.

Published as the UN-designated International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture draws to a close, the book is also a call to action, highlighting FAO’s efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

Nicki Chadwick, UN News.