Urgent action and funding are needed to sustain progress in the global fight against tuberculosis (TB), the UN World Health Organization (WHO) has said, warning that global targets for prevention and treatment “will likely be missed”.

The COVID-19 pandemic has not only led to a “dramatic loss” of human life but also constitutes an “unprecedented challenge” to public health, food systems and employment, a group of leading UN agencies said on Tuesday. 

In reviewing, assessing and acknowledging the effects of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, enslavement and colonialism, the groundbreaking Durban World Conference of 2001, represented a “milestone” in the common fight against racism, xenophobia and related intolerance, the UN human rights chief said on Monday. 

More than 20 UN agencies in Myanmar have come together to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, and staff are putting their lives on their line to support the Organization’s efforts to protect lives and boost livelihoods. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that “our health systems are inadequate”, the UN chief told a ministerial meeting on Thursday, citing weak structures and unequal access to healthcare as “major reasons” why the coronavirus has killed one million people and infected more than 30 times that, globally.

A stillborn baby is delivered every 16 seconds, which translates into nearly two million infants over the course of a year that never took their first breath, according to a new UN report published on Thursday. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of strong public health systems and emergency preparedness for communities and economies globally, the UN Secretary-General said on Wednesday, calling for greater investments in universal health coverage.