UN General Assembly
2021

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has revealed the fragility of our societies and States through its unprecedented negative repercussions for health, the economy, education and other sectors and has jeopardized the timely achievement of the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The health crisis has compounded the multidimensional economic, social, environmental, food, energy and inequality crisis of capitalism. At the same time, the crisis has highlighted the continuing inequality between the countries that are at the hub of capitalism and those on the periphery, which are euphemistically referred to as “developed” and “developing” countries. The increase in poverty and extreme poverty and the inequitable distribution of vaccines has been condemned by the World Health Organization. According to available data, to date only 30 per cent of the world population requiring vaccination has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and barely 15.5 per cent is fully vaccinated. Meanwhile, only 1.1 per cent of the population in low-income countries has received at least one dose.