The United Nations As coronavirus vaccines provide a glimmer of optimism around the world, a high-level UN official said on Monday that it was “painful to witness” the dashed hopes of most people in the Global South who have little chance of receiving an inoculation anytime soon. “The COVID-19 pandemic is a stark reminder of the key role social development plays in protecting people’s lives and livelihoods, as well as the planet”, Munir Akram, Pakistan’s UN Ambassador and the President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) told the in-person opening session of the Commission for Social Development in New York.