For the first time in 75 years, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) will be held virtually. Kicking off on Tuesday, September 15, the 75th UN General Assembly has organized high-level events that span over three weeks, with a variety of ways for viewers to engage and follow along.
In light of the global pandemic, the UN General Assembly will aim to generate renewed support for global cooperation. This year’s unprecedented virtual format will cover key issues including COVID-19 global collaboration, gender inequalities, climate change, and the Sustainable Development Goals. Discussions are likely to focus on mobilizing greater resources for global COVID-19 response efforts and calls for equitable access to vaccines, tests, and treatments when they become available.
Here are just a few virtual UNGA global health events to put on your calendar. You can follow all the General Assembly meetings LIVE, on demand, or check out the UN Foundation’s full guide to UNGA.
UN Photo/Manuel Elias
UNGA Global Health Events to Attend
- Sept 16: Avoiding Barriers to Access for a COVID-19 Vaccine
- Sept 17: Providing Faster Access to Quality Medical Products During COVID-19
- Sept 17-29: SDG Media Zone
- Sept 24: COVID 50/50 Action Lab 2: Women, Leadership, & Power
- Sept 18-26: Global Goals Week
- Sept 30: Accelerating the End of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Event Descriptions
Avoiding Barrier to Access for a COVID-19 Vaccine
September 16, 2020
8:00 AM – 9:00 AM EDT
Hosted by Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health International Vaccine Access Center. Leaders and scientists in the international vaccine field will discuss the barriers to vaccine access and the role the international community will play in promoting COVID-19 vaccine access equity.
Seizing the Moment: Providing Faster Access to Quality Medical Products During COVID-19 and Beyond
September 17, 2020
9:00 AM – 10:30 AM EDT
Hosted by MSH and Deloitte. This will be a conversation on how countries can respond to disruptions, maintain essential services, and prevent future pandemics.
SDG Media Zone
September 17-29, 2020
Hosted by the UN Department of Global Communications in collaboration with media partners around the world, featured interviews in the Media Zone will examine critical issues of our time, including vaccines, gender equality, and the urgent need to protect biodiversity under the theme “Science, Solutions, and Solidarity to Transform our World.”
COVID 50/50 Action Lab 2: Women, Leadership, & Power (September 24, 2020)
September 24, 2020
In partnership with the Johnson and Johnson Center for Health Worker Innovation, Women in Global Health (WGH) are producing a series of Women, Leadership, and Power digital Action Labs to highlight women’s contribution during the COVID-19 global pandemic. This lab will address providing health workers, most of whom are women, with safe and decent working conditions. As demands for health care rise due to COVID-19, existing challenges are exacerbated and new pressures for health and social care workers are created worldwide.
Global Goals Week
September 18-26, 2020
9 am- 10:30 EST
Global Goals Week will focus on making this year a turning point to recover better for people and planet, as COVID-19 threatens to reverse decades of progress. A coalition of 100+ partners will mobilize to cultivate ideas, identify solutions, and hold leaders accountable. Immunization goals fall specifically under Sustainable Development Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
Accelerating the End of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Taking New Solutions to Scale and Making Them Equitably Accessible, to Save Lives, Protect Health Systems and Restart the Global Economy
September 30, 2020
8:30 AM – 10:00 AM EDT
Hosted by Secretary-General António Guterres, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and the World Health Organization. The event will showcase the progress and global collaboration to ensure equitable access to new COVID-19 diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines through the Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator and its COVAX Global Vaccines Facility.