Vaccine supply remains constrained and is not in itself sufficient to end the current phase of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Despite never previously having had to deal with a challenge that has impacted every country in the world simultaneously, the UN has excelled in this crisis, with the World Health Organization, UN Children’s Fund and World Food Programme all playing strong roles.

One area closely linked to financing has been the UN’s convening role regarding the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT)-Accelerator, bringing together the diverse expertise of multilateral and global health institutions, as well as academia and the private sector. Not only did this facility enable vaccine deliveries to low- and middle-income economies within 12 weeks of their introduction to high-income countries, it identified and validated quality rapid-diagnostic tests while significantly reducing their costs for low-income countries.