What's New

With one in 10 people still feeling ill 12 weeks after having COVID-19, authorities must do more to support them, a UN-backed policy brief issued on Thursday argues. 

The document summarizes what is known so far about “long COVID” and how countries are addressing the condition, whose troubling symptoms include severe fatigue and increased damage to the heart, lungs and brain. 

Human rights have been battered in the COVID-19 pandemic but recovery represents a chance to improve on the status quo and finally ensure dignity for all, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the General Assembly on Wednesday. 

A Moroccan-French woman whose son was killed in a terrorist attack nearly a decade ago, has been commended for her powerful activism countering youth radicalization, and her efforts to replace the desolation of loss with ‘a prayer of love’. 

Latifa Ibn Ziaten is co-recipient of the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity, an honour she received earlier this month alongside the UN Secretary-General. 

The UN International Labour Organization (ILO) on Tuesday highlighted the need for enhanced international policy cooperation to provide decent work opportunities and foster sustainable business growth in the digital economy.

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has called on manufacturers to prioritize contracts with the UN-led equitable vaccines initiative, COVAX, declaring that it’s “not a matter of charity, it’s a matter of epidemiology”.

During this time of “crisis and fragility”, the UN chief told the United Nations Environment Assembly on Monday that human well-being and prosperity can be vastly improved by prioritizing nature-based solutions. 

By exposing deep fissures and fragilities, “COVID-19 has x-rayed the world”, the UN chief told the Munich Security Conference on Friday, while acknowledging that today’s vulnerabilities go “well beyond” pandemics and public health. 

“Our global tests and challenges are getting bigger and more complex. Yet our responses remain fragmented and insufficient”, Secretary-General António Guterres said via videoconference. 

With the COVID-19 pandemic exposing social and economic inequalities rooted in racism, discrimination and xenophobia, recovery must lead to more inclusive societies, the UN Secretary-General told Member States on Thursday. 

Without nature’s help, “we will not thrive or even survive”, the UN chief said on Thursday, launching a major report on the environment. 

International partners working to achieve equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines appealed on Wednesday for the UN Security Council to ensure people caught in conflict have access to these lifesaving treatments.  

Addressing the virtual meeting, UN Secretary-General António Guterres described the goal of providing vaccines to all as “the biggest moral test before the global community”, underlining that everyone, everywhere must be included.