On World Health Day 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic is far from over. The number of infections and deaths continues to rise in many countries around the world. Combating the pandemic is also made more difficult by the appearance of new variants of the virus. Existing inequalities deepen. In the area of global vaccine distribution, in particular, there are differences between low-income and rich countries.
Science and research have made important advances in drug, COVID-19 testing, and vaccine development in record time. There are challenges in logistics and in the fair distribution of these instruments. Global initiatives such as the ACT Accelerator support low- and middle-income countries in the fight against COVID-19. The World Health Organization plays a central role in coordinating global crisis management.
An independent review commission is currently analysing the global crisis management coordinated by the WHO and developing recommendations on how the global community can better respond to health threats such as pandemics in the future.
Read our entire monitor on where we are with tackling the pandemic here as a PDF.