New UN Vaccine Equity Campaign Underscores Travel’s Inaction
Photo Credit: Travel Day of Action demonstration in Westminster to pressure government to reopen for summer 2021 travel Flickr Commons / Breaking Travel News
Skift Take
The data now confirms it: vaccine hoarding by rich nations is having dire consequences on the global economy, and on society everywhere. But it's not too late for the travel industry to speak up and demand the resolution of the primary stumbling block to its sustained recovery.
Heading into 2022, travel’s leaders in rich nations have been focused on pushing for a return to normal, while domestic tourism helps keep their industries afloat. Scientists from the United Nations World Health Organization (UNWHO), however, warned that vaccine inequity was the biggest failure of 2021, which is certain to lead to more variants, with troubling global economic and social consequences.
Indeed, the data's now proving it. Global growth is set to decelerate markedly this year, as well as in 2023, due to ongoing Covid flare ups caused primarily by vaccine inequity, a World Bank report on global economic prospects released on Tuesday reveals.
“This underscores the importance of strengthening global cooperation to foster rapid and equitable vaccine distribution,” the World Bank report states.
In light of these findings, the United Nations General Assembly's new social media campaign, “I STAND FOR #VaccineEquity,” launched at
