WHO : Launches initiative for equitable access to COVID-19 tools (PRIV)
(Edward Hammond, Austin)
At a dramatic press conference on Friday (24 April) afternoon in Geneva, the World Health Organization (WHO) unveiled what it calls a "landmark collaboration" that aims for "equitable global access to innovative tools for COVID-19 for all."

COVID-19 : Is WHO's ACT Accelerator old wine in a new bottle? (PRIV)
(K. M. Gopakumar, New Delhi)
The announcement by the World Health Organization of the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator ("ACT Accelerator") has come within a few days of the adoption by the United Nations General Assembly of its Resolution on "International cooperation to ensure global access to medicines, vaccines and medical equipment to face COVID-19" (A/RES/74/274).

COVID-19 : CSOs call for fair & equitable benefit sharing of medical products (PRIV)
(Kanaga Raja, Geneva)
Nearly 400 civil society organizations (CSOs) and individuals have called for the operationalization of fair and equitable benefit sharing arising from the sharing of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) digital sequence information and samples as recognized by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its Nagoya Protocol.

United Nations : Faces financial & liquidity crisis as global pandemic rages (PRIV)
(IPS, New York)
The current financial crisis, triggered as a result of withholding or delaying payment of assessed contributions by Member States, is nothing new to the United Nations.