Out of 5.7 billion doses of coronavirus vaccines administered around the world, only 2 per cent have been in Africa. Biden will host a virtual meeting from Washington with leaders and chief executives on Wednesday (Sep 22) that aims to boost the distribution of vaccines globally.
Demonstrating US COVID-19 concerns about the UN gathering, Biden will be in New York only for about 24 hours, meeting with Guterres on Monday and making his first UN address on Tuesday, directly after Bolsonaro.
His UN envoy, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said Biden would “speak to our top priorities: Ending the COVID-19 pandemic; combating climate change … and defending human rights, democracy, and the international rules-based order”.
Due to the pandemic, UN delegations are restricted to much smaller numbers and most events on the sidelines will be virtual or a hybrid of virtual and in-person. Among other topics that ministers are expected to discuss during the week are Afghanistan and Iran.
But before the annual speeches begin, Guterres and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will start the week with a summit on Monday to try and save a UN climate summit – that kicks off in Glasgow, Scotland, on Oct 31 – from failure.
As scientists warn that global warming is dangerously close to spiralling out of control, the UN COP26 conference aims to wring much more ambitious climate action and the money to go with it from participants around the globe.
“It’s time to read the alarm bell,” Guterres told Reuters last week. “We are on the verge of the abyss.”
For all the latest world News Click Here
