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After 12 months where the world has faced “a tsunami of suffering”, the arrival of COVID-19 vaccines represents “some light at the end of the tunnel” said the UN chief on Thursday, marking the anniversary of the World Health Organization (WHO) issuing its pandemic alert.

The United Nations today launched a new global campaign, Only Together to support its call for fair and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines around the world.

The campaign stresses the need for coordinated global action to ensure vaccines are accessible in all countries, starting with health-care workers and the most vulnerable.

Secretary-General António Guterres has underlined the UN’s determination to continue pursuing a negotiated political settlement to the Syrian civil war, a “living nightmare” that has endured for 10 years now. 

Briefing journalists at UN Headquarters on Wednesday, the UN chief stressed the need for countries to put aside their differences to support Syrians in finding a solution to the crisis. 

Countries, on Wednesday, adopted a new statistical framework that takes into account the contributions of nature, when measuring economic prosperity and human well-being. 

People incarcerated across the world are being “disproportionately affected” by the COVID-19 pandemic according to a UN expert on prison reform.

On Wednesday, the impact of the virus in prison settings is being discussed at the 14th UN Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice which is underway in Kyoto, Japan.

More than one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions caused by human activity can be attributed to the way we produce, process and package food, a UN-backed study published on Tuesday has revealed. 

Food system emissions were estimated at 18 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2015, or 34 per cent, though down from 44 per cent in 1990, indicating gradual decline even as these emissions kept increasing. 

Over the past decade, violence against women has been “endemic in every country and culture”, according to a new study released by the UN health agency on Tuesday.

Latest available data from the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners revealed that violence against women remains “devastatingly pervasive and starts alarmingly young”. 

Some 736 million women – that translates to a third of all women – have been subjected to physical or sexual violence across their lifetimes. 

Underscoring the transformative power of women’s equal participation, top United Nations officials called on all stakeholders to take special measures to advance their equal participation and achieve rapid change. 

Women doctors and scientists on the frontlines of the global battle against COVID-19 have revealed how the pandemic has exposed gender gaps in both access to healthcare and professional development in their fields. 

Exclusion of women in decisions that affect their lives is “bad governance [and] should not be allowed”, the UN Women chief said on Monday, marking the International Women’s Day.