New York: Next year is shaping up to be a humanitarian catastrophe and rich countries must not trample poor countries in a “stampede for vaccines” to combat the coronavirus pandemic, top UN officials have told the 193-member UN General Assembly.

World Food Program (WFP) chief David Beasley and World Health Organisation (WHO) head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus spoke on Friday during a special meeting on COVID-19, which emerged in China late last year and has so far infected 65 million globally.

World Food Program chief David Beasley said 2021 was going to be “catastrophic”.Credit:UN

The pandemic, measures taken by countries to try to stop its spread and the economic impact have fuelled a 40 per cent increase in the number of people needing humanitarian help, the United Nations said earlier this week. It has appealed for $US35 billion ($47 billion) in aid funding.

“2021 is literally going to be catastrophic based on what we’re seeing at this stage of the game,” said Beasley, adding that for a dozen countries, famine is “knocking on the door”.



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